Third Time's a Charm
by BookishTen8
Summary: Once his friendship with Lily ends, Severus has nobody left to care for in his life. Luckily, one last person does care for the young Slytherin. With their help, they not only change Severus's fate but also the world's. This is the story of the Half-Blood Prince who went from an Unwanted Slytherin to the third coming of Merlin.
1. Change of Fate

**AN: Alternative Universe**

 **xXx**

 **( June 5 1976 - Forbidden Forest )**

"Reducto!" A tree explodes into shards of wood that fly away in every direction.

"Sectumsempra!" The curse hits another unfortunate tree which collapses after the curse cleanly cuts through it like a hot knife to butter.

"Baubillios!" A white ball of light shoots out of the tip of a wand and hits into another tree and leaves a smoking hole the size of a watermelon in its side.

The Forbidden Forest that lies by the outskirts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft is forbidden for a reason. Magical creatures are said to live in the forest, feeding off anyone who makes the mistake on entering. Acromantula and Centaurs are known to live in the forest and while Centaurs won't bother anyone as long as they keep their distance, Acromantula will kill and eat anything that isn't one of their own. They fear nothing and only have the goals to protect their young and to feed off anything with blood and flesh.

Yet, they refuse to show to the very angry fifth year who is throwing Spells left and right, not caring for what damage he may cause to the environment.

This student is Severus Snape and he isn't mad.

He's downright pissed off.

Being Severus Snape is not an easy thing to live with which he will happily admit in his state of adrenaline. At this point, he wouldn't care if Voldemort or Dumbledore were accidentally hit by one of his Destruction Spells. Hell, he'll hit Dumbledore with one if he knew a way to get away with it.

At the first point of his young life, everything wasn't too bad for the youth. His mother was a Pureblood witch who married a Muggle, something her family apparently didn't approve of since they cut off all ties with her. She thought him all about Magic and how he could use it, something in which brought joy to the boy. He could do Magic like his mother which made her proud of him. She was especially proud of him when he took up an interest in Potions which was once her favourite subject before she gave up her life as a Witch and lived a married life as a Muggle with his father, Tobias Snape.

However, everything changed when the factory that employed his father closed down. Upon losing his job, his father would spend most of his time drinking which would usually end up with him beating his wife or Snape himself. His violent tendencies just got worse the more Snape used his Magic and would usually beat him even harsher, having no love for the mystic arts and he wasn't afraid to show how much. However his mother would never once fight back, allowing him to hit her, seemingly loving him too much to do anything about it. She must loved him very much if she gave up her life in a rich Pureblood family. She usually did do her best to sway Tobias's anger out on herself so he won't have the energy to bring his anger down on Snape.

With his father's violence and him spending most of their money on alcohol, life got very hard for the child.

When he met the neighbour's daughter, Lily Evans, he was overjoyed at finding someone just like him. Someone who can use the joys of Magic like him and his mother. Her parents being Muggles never once disturbed him and he was at least happy to have a friend for once in his young life. Her family were very nice to him as well with both Mr and Mrs Evans welcoming him with open arms. While her sister, Petunia is a bit of a pain, he reluctantly admits that he does find her friendly at times, especially when she thinks he doesn't notice.

When he and Lily got their letters from Hogwarts, they were both ecstatic at the chance of knowing more about Magic. They even both went to Diagon Alley togethor to get their robes and wands. While Lily's wand was made of Alder with Unicorn hair as its core, he got one made of Black Walnut with a White River Monster spine, something the wandmaker, Ollivander mentioned is quite uncommon.

When they got on the train for Hogwarts, Severus thought that he could finally have something other than Lily to make his life happy. Meet more people like himself and Lily and to discover the wonders of Magic.

That thought quickly came to an end after first year.

He was saddened when he was placed into Slytherin while Lily was placed into Gryffindor. He had hoped that they would be out in the same house but thought nothing of it later on. They would still be best friends even if they are in different houses. He didn't think that being in rival houses would change anything between them.

Then came the Marauders. James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin have many things in common with one another. They are all pranksters at heart, they are all in Gryffindor and they also out to make sure Snape doesn't have one day of peace within Hogwarts.

It all started with names like "Slimy Snake", "Mini Death Eater" or their personal favourite," Snivellus". A month of name calling, they started to get creative and would hex him whenever a professor wasn't looking. It was Stinging Hexes at first before the Spells went to the extreme. They even used a curse that makes soap bubbles pour out of his mouth. He can't even remember to amount of times he almost drowned in soapy suds whenever they used it on him. There was never a day when they wouldn't show mercy but didn't do it whenever he was with Lily. However, there were times he got a stinging hex with none of them near him, making him suggest that they have a invisibility cloak, something in which he can't prove.

The only good thing was that Lily was willing to defend him against their pranks, something in which he was grateful for. He always enjoyed it whenever she called Potter a toerag. He didn't have any other friends to help him but his fellow Slytherins did make sure to help ease his pain and tension whenever they were nearby. Being a house known to produce Dark Wizards and Witches, they were always treated with a disdain from not only other students but from the teachers as well. The headmaster included who was biased to all of the Marauders activities.

Whenever the Maruaders would do their usual attacks on him, he refuses to call them "Pranks", he would fight back against them, not caring for the numbers. He never once gloated for the many times he could hold the four back before a professor came running. Unfortunately, a few quick lies by the Marauders and Severus being Slytherin, Snape usually found himself losing fifty points for Slytherin and how he also got two weeks of detention.

By defending himself!

The Marauders only ever got a few days of detention, at best and James, Peter and Sirius would smirk at him victoriously, knowing they won. Remus would just look at him with pity, like as if he wants the others to stop but can't do anything about.

"Unbloody likely!" roared Severus, firing a ball of fire that bathes a tree in orange flames. Ignoring the impressive display of his Fire Spell discinerating the tree within seconds, he continues his bad memories.

He can still remember the time when the Marauder's hexed his feet to trip when he walked in the Great Hall which caused him to fall face first to the floor and break his nose. It's because of them that his nose is now crooked. He remembers looking up, ignoring the Marauders and the other few students who laughed at him. Hoping for some form of punishment for them, he instead saw Dumbledore smirk in amusement before he hid it behind a cough but it was too late, he saw it. He didn't even punish the four, having said that it was all just a harmless "prank" that went wrong. Said harmless prank broke his nose and all he got for it was laughs. From the headmaster of all people.

For years, the same would happen to him, the Marauders would hex him and whenever he would defend himself, he would be the one to get in trouble. His evenings were usually spent with Lily guiding him to the infirmary for Poppy to heal whatever was done to him. He was at least happy to know that Potter's obvious attempts to charm her never worked and that she stayed at his side to help him nurse his wounds from the pranks.

Everything changed in third year.

Instead of ignoring Potter's flirting or insulting him, Lily actually started to flirt back! The betrayal broke his heart in more ways than one. She was not only his first and only friend but she was also his first love which he would rather die than admit. How can he not since she was his first friend and shown him kindness for nine years. She is also known as the most prettiest girl in year, if not the school so that probably helped as well.

If that wasn't enough to hurt him, she started to actually defend the four whenever he complained about their attacks on him. She saw what their pranks are for two years and then all of a sudden, she thinks that they're harmless!

While he continued to befriend her, he could easily see that he was losing her to Potter and the Marauders. He also knew that Lily's own friends, especially that Mary McDonald, would whisper in her ear and warn her to stay from him, saying that he's hanging around with sons of Death Eaters. Its not his fault that he wants to get to know his house mates since he is going to be living with them for the most of seven years. Then Lily started getting worried about him because he was finding an interest in Dark Magic, believing that he's starting to slowly move to the Dark Lord's side. How can't he not study them if he wants to learn to defend himself against them?

He highly doubts that while learning Occlumency is borderline dark, it isn't something to worry about. Besides, he has a few Spells he made himself after getting curious over the thought of making new Magic. While most of them are just small hexes and jinxs, there are a few he is proud of on making. His earlier Sectumsempra being an example and while he doesn't use it on people, he knows that it could maim if not kill with just one Spell. He's even messing around with the thought of flying without a broom but so far, he only has a small bit of work done on that. His second biggest Spell is the Levicorpus, a Spell which levitates someone upside down, making them vulnerable for anything.

A nearby tree suddenly explodes without warning, having been the effect of Severus's Accidental Magic pulsing out of him and he isn't willing to stop it.

The reason he is downright angry is because not just a week ago, the Marauders attacked him again and used his own Levicorpus Spell on him and pulled his pants down for all the nearby students to see. Now, he knows that he only taught one person that Spell and they must have obviously taught it to Potter.

Lily.

She did arrive eventually and demanded Potter to cancel the Spell, but he ignored her of course. It wasn't until Lily looked up at him that Severus's heart truly broke.

She smiled.

She smiled at Potter embarrassing him in front of the other students with his own Spell. A Spell that he trusted her with and she broke that trust by teaching it to his biggest bully who makes it a hobby to make his own school life a living hell. He isn't sure which sin it was that made him say it but the word "Mudblood" just rolled off his lips. He remembers the look of horror on her face as well as the ones of shock on everyone else but he didn't care. It was as if everyone was out to get him and he didn't care at that point.

It was there where his friendship with Lily Evans died. At first, he felt sick at calling her such a thing and tried to apologize. He even stayed outside the Gryffindor Common Room so he can apologize. She just glared at him and waved him off, rejecting his apology and also rejecting any chance of them mending their friendship.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Severus can't help himself but roar out his anguish to the sky, wanting it to somehow do something about his miserable life. The nearby trees shatter under the pressure of Snape's Magic lashing out at anything within radius. The Centaurs who are looking at the child from afar immediately run off in fright after feeling the power of his Magic wash over them, warming them up but also putting a chill to their spines.

 _"Why can't I catch a bloody break!"_ he thought to himself angrily. His one friend in the world won't talk to him anymore and now, he's alone in a world that hates him. Two years ago, his mother was murdered by Tobias in a drunken rage and he and Lily took a week off to go to the funeral, along with the rest of the Evans. While he didn't shed a tear for his drunken excuse of a father who was sentenced to life in a maximum security prison, he cried for what must have been hours for his mother. He didn't show tears but when he was in the safety of the Evan's spare room, he let out all of his pain and anguish.

The only good thing he has going for himself is that the school year is about to end in a week and then he can leave for his life of solitude. He won't be going back to Spinners End for sure, not with the Evans living there. His Accidental Magic quiets down at the thought of the family who took care of him as one of their own. Even Petunia in her own denying way.

 _"I can't see them"_ he thought with a sad frown, his Magic having finally dying down. _"Not anymore. Not with Lily there."_

Finally getting a grip of himself, he builds back up his Occlumen shields and finally notices the destruction around him. He blushes, feeling embarrassed over losing his temper like that, something in which he isn't use to after studying Occlumency since the start of second year. He's also a bit impressed with himself once he sees the trail of dead trees and the few holes in the ground, as well as the crater underneath his feet.

Unknown to Severus, Ollivander failed to mention to him that Black Walnut wands are very difficult to control. They are usually given to innovators and inventors but there's a word of caution for those to be given one, something Severus never once got. While some woods are difficult to dominate and may resist the performance of Spells that are foreign to their nature, a Walnut wand will perform any task required once it's subjugated and as long as the user is of sufficient brilliance. It will also cause problems if the user isn't sincere with themselves.

As of right now, the wand is subjugated under Severus Snape's will and ever since getting his wand, he is now finally feeling sincere with himself. With Lily being his light of day and everything about the school being his nightmare, he has always had trouble with his thoughts. With Lily's betrayal, his confusing thoughts aren't messing up his mind. Now he knows.

The world is truly not so black and white anymore.

With a sigh, he reluctantly heads back to Hogwarts so he can make it to dinner. He can only be thankful that school will be over next week since they've all completed their OWL Exams. He won't be returning home, one reason being that he doesn't want to return to the empty house full of bad memories and the second is because the Evan family would expect him to visit like usual. Not this time.

Not anymore.

There's only one safe haven he has left in the world and if that went, he isn't sure what he would do.

Stopping for a second, he looks down at his wand in his hand and bites his bottom lip. After a moment of thinking, he flips it in the air and grabs it before spinning on his heel. "Baubillios!" he called out before a ball of Magic shoots out of the tip of his wand and makes a clean hole through the centre of a tree. Feeling slighty better at releasing his frustration through stretching his Magic, he pockets his wand before he makes his way back to the school.

Not once does he notice that the four trees lined up behind the one he casted a Baubillios on has the same smoking hole in the centre as the first. Nor the fifth that collapses due to the tree losing two thirds of its trunk.

 **( June 5 1976 - Diagon Alley )**

Snape can't stop his lips from twitching upwards while he stands in front of the last bit of light in his miserable life.

The Apothecary.

He walks in and hears the usual chime of a bell. His dark eyes scan the layout of the dark shop and sees that nothing has changed since he left last year. Lining the shelfs all over the large room are jars and vials of all sorts of ingredients that one would need to brew potions. Scents of honey and dried cockroaches fill his nose and he sighs happily, feeling at home with himself.

"Severus my boy! So good to have you back" called a voice from behind the counter. Severus turns to the voice and his lips twitch again when he sees the same man who helped him more than anyone else has.

Reginold Ottoman is an elderly gentleman who is around twenty years younger than Dumbledore which still makes him very old. He adorns the same brown robes that are drench in all sort of smells from the ingredients he uses for his potions. With short grey hair and a bit of wrinkles, he looks to be any kind of old man. Only that this old man has a Gold Cauldron Potion Master Degree, something very few Potion Masters learn to obtain in their careers.

Severus likes him because they both share the same fondness over potions and ever since first year, he has given Severus a place to work to earn money. He also allows him to practice his potions at the shop whenever it isn't too busy and even teaches him a few things about brewing.

"Good to see you again, Master Ottoman" greeted Severus with a respectful nod.

Reginold sighs when his student calls him master again, even after telling him not to for two years. Taking in Severus, he is pretty amazed at how tall he's gotten. He's now taller than himself for crying out loud. However, the Potions Master narrows his eyes when he sees those charcoal eyes of Severus's. They've dimmed even more since last year and inwardly frowns.

Being the only trustworthy adult in his life, Severus has always felt it safe enough to tell what his life is like in Hogwarts. Afterwards, it took a lot from Severus to stop Reginold from going to the school board about the Marauders but it's mostly because he's frightened at what they would do to him if they found out. While agreeing to not talk to the school board, Reginold made it his business to never serve those boys in his shop ever again.

While he isn't sure why the boy goes through such pain, he does always notice a little shine in the boy's eye that only shines brighter when he talks about his best friend, Lily Evans.

 _"To be a lovesick kid again"_ he remembers thinking about himself. While the first few times Severus spoke about her, Reginold admitted that she sounded like a bright young witch and is happy that someone is Severus's friend. That was until Severus spoke less of her in third year and then mentioned how she's starting to hang out with the Potter brat more and more.

Now, that light that once put a shine to the boy's eyes have been snuff out and he can already guess why.

"Good thing you came, I'm almost running out of Pepper up potions. You can help me with the new batch" said Reginold, hiding his thoughts underneath a kind smile. He brings Severus with him to the back room where more potions lay on high shelves and a long table with cauldrons lining it. Immediately, Snape's eyes light up at the sight of the cauldrons, something Reginold doesn't miss.

Through the years of Severus working at his shop, Reginold noticed that the boy has a mind that far surpasses brilliance if he has ever saw one. He has never seen someone so in love with potions, certainly not an eleven year old at the fight time he saw Severus brew.

What he finds most impressive about the boy is how he has a tendancy to change the recipe of a potion. Sometimes by very little and others, greatly. He can still remember the first time he was teaching Severus how to brew a Polyjuice Potion when he was thirteen. At the time, he thought the Slytherin was ready to make it, seeing as they don't teach such things in Hogwarts until sixth year.

He was wrong.

Oh how he was so wrong!

Not only was the boy more than ready enough for such a potion but his young mind was already thinking of different ways to make it better. Reginold still remembers hovering over the boy's shoulder and could only gape as the child went to work. Hands grabbed different vials and jars, Blackseeds were squashed instead of cut and Dream Crystals were grounded into fine powder before being dumped into the smothering cauldron. The result was the most powerful Polyjuice Potion Reginold has ever seen in his long career as a Potions Master. At the time, he couldn't actually believe a thirteen year old created such a thing but at this point in time, he has gotten use to it. Severus Snape ingenuity is something that comes to having the boy as an employee and student.

However, Severus has never published any of his improved potions for Merlin knows why. He at least provides Reginold's shop with his enhanced Healing Draughts and Pepper Up Potions, which are all usually sold pretty quickly whenever in stock.

Not only is his skills in potions unheard of but Reginold is proud to say that his student has the imagination and stubbornness that would impress Merlin himself if the Wizard was still alive.

Severus always carries a little black book on his person that would always catch Reginold's eyes, especially when the Slytherin wrote into it while muttering who knows what. When he asked, Severus told him that its where he keeps his ideas for new potions and Spells, having already created a few. At the time, Reginold didn't fully understand the Slytherin so he had laugh at what he thought was a joke.

His laughing quickly stopped when Severus let him read a page in his journal. On the page, there were hypothesis written down as well as the effects of a potion to restore lost limbs. Underneath it was the planning and execution of flying without a broom! As much as he wanted to deny that such things are impossible, he couldn't help but lose his mind over what he read. He couldn't even understand half the mathematics and theories on the one page alone. The same page had some handy ideas on flying and a potion to restore limbs, something which would most likely earn Severus a Bronze Cauldron at least. He can finally understand why the child held the book on him at all times. If someone were to find out about that journal, they would very likely do their best to steal it and take credit for the ideas in it. He can only guess what else is written in that little black book of his and what other Wizardry problems it may fix.

There is just no doubt about it.

Severus Snape is a prodigy. He just doesn't understand it yet and from the way he's treated at Hogwarts, nobody there seems to understand either. And here he would have thought that Dumbledore of all people would notice the genius that is quite literally underneath his nose. Instead, he ignores the needs of the abused child and practically encourages the bullying if the incident with Snape's crooked nose is any indication.

 _"Looks like I'll be flooing him after all"_ Reginold thought as he watches Snape brew away a new batch of improved Pepper Up Potions. Severus may not understand his own genius mind but Reginold does and he refuses to let such potential go to waste in Hogwarts. Anymore of the same treatment there and he's afraid that Snape will turn dark at some point. Knowing what it is to be young, he knows that when a kid is the victim, their minds tend to warp for the need of attention. Even if said attention is a bad one.

He can't have that happen to Severus of all people. Not just because he believes that Severus deserves better than joining the Death Eaters but also because if Severus were to join the Dark Lord, he's afraid that they'll actually win the war. While Dumbledore may ignore the child's ingenuity, Voldemort won't and that's a scary thought which brings a slight shiver down his old bones.

Just a month ago, he found a pamphlet of a prestigious school from America called Oliver Gardens. A school that only the most brilliant students in the world attend to since the only way someone can enroll is through a scholarship of some kind. Of course, that doesn't stop the few rich Wizards and Witches who try to buy their children a scholarship to the school, something which has yet to happen. He has read quite a lot about the school and is amazed at how 90% of the school graduates end up with a very bright future. The other 10% are the students who couldn't manage to keep their scholarships within the school. He hopes to have Severus go to the school and make something out of himself. Something which won't happen if he stays at Hogwarts.

Hopefully, it willl bring back the light in his eyes and there's no better way to do that then leave the school that ignores his troubles.

Leaving Severus with his work, Reginold leaves the room and heads upstairs where his fireplace is. He's gonna have to make the call.

 **( June 8 1976 - Apothecary )**

"Thank you and come again" said Severus as he waves off another customer who he just sold one of his personally made Healing Draughts to. The man walks away with a limp so he can make a guess on why he needs it.

Reginold enters from the back room and taps his student on his shoulder. "Severus, can you come upstairs for a moment, I've got someone who wants to meet you" he asked with a small smile.

 _"Someone who wants to meet me?"_ Severus thought, wondering who would want to meet him and why in the first place. "But what about the shop? Won't I need to stay in case someone shows up?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it. I'll close up shop early for today" said Reginold who flicks his wrist to the door. The sign hanging on the door that reads "OPEN" flips around to read out "CLOSED".

Severus frowns at the idea of closing the shop early but agrees to it nonetheless. Maybe he can get some practice in with his Occlumency and maybe get some research done for his project of flying without the use of a broom. He can't stand how uncomfortable sitting on a broom is like and thought that flying without one would be handy. It would be more comfortable and he could use it to escape bad situations. He knows it won't be easy but in his opinion, it's worth trying.

Walking up the stairs with his master following behind him, Snape enters Reginold's office since the only other upstairs rooms are Reginold's bedroom and the spare bedroom which Severus is currently occupying. And because the floo system is connected to Reginold's office since Snape hasn't seen anyone walk by the counter to the back room.

When he enters the big office, he sees that there is a man sitting on one of the two guest chairs in front of Reginold's desk. Severus takes note of how smartly dress he is, wearing a light brown Muggle suit over a white shirt and blue tie. Over the suit is a robe with the same colour scheme as the suit jacket and he adorns a pair of black dress shoes. He has dirty brown hair that is neatly brushed and a pair of green eyes which he notices has a sense of intelligence in them. He hasn't seen those sort of eyes other than in Dumbledore's and his employer's. He also reluctanlty admits that the man is quite handsome.

"Please take a seat Severus" offered Reginold as he takes a seat of his own behind his desk.

With a nod, Severus takes a seat beside the older gentleman but not before he respectfully bows to the guest. The man seems to like that because he smiles and bows as well to Severus.

"Good evening Mr Snape" greeted the man who offers his hand. Snape responds by shaking said hand and offering his greetings. "Do you know who I am Mr Snape or why I am here?"

"No sir. I was only told that you wanted to speak with me." Severus glances over to Reginold who merely smiles, something that annoys him since the old man always has the same smile whenever he wants to hide his emotions, making it hard to study him.

"I am here today to hopefully guide you to a great future" replied the stranger, causing Severus to raise a brow in curiosity. "I'm sorry, I realized I haven't introduced myself yet" he said, feeling a tad embarrassed. "My name is Paul Deegan and I'm the current Potions Professor at the Oliver Garden Institute."

"Oliver Garden Institute? I've never heard of that school before" said Severus, unsure why a professor from a different school wants to talk to him.

"Of course you wouldn't. It's not a school that anybody can go to like Hogwarts" answered Paul. "Oliver Gardens is a very private school that only accepts the brightest students in the world. Which so happens to be why I'm here."

Paul reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small vile with a red liquid inside it. "Tell me Mr. Snape, what is this?" Paul asked, referring to the vial.

"It's a Healing Draught, why?" said Severus almost automatically. There's only one potion in the world that has that shade of red.

"Exactly. This is a Healing Draught but not just any that I can buy at a Potion Shop. No, this one just so happens to have enhanced healing properties that aren't normal in any run of the mill Healing Draught. If I may say so, it's an improvement of the normal brand."

Severus stiffens when he hears that and glances back over to Reginold who has yet to break his smile away from his face. It hasn't grown or lessen any bit, staying the same locked up expression that he can't figure out.

"Your employer, Mr. Reginold Ottoman, sent us a jar of your creation three days ago." Severus sends his employer an accusing glare that doesn't deter the elder one bit. "And I must say that I am impressed. We've gone through several tests with it already and we've found out that it can heal several wounds that the usual brand can't. Many including shattered bones, pierced lungs and to my amazement, blindness. Our healers are still going crazy over it and are actually hoping for some more" said Paul before he waves his hand away. "But that can be a discussion for another day."

Heat warms Severus's cheeks as the Potions Professor praises his work. Nobody has ever done that before, well everyone except for Ottoman, his mother and once upon a time, Lily. Not even his Head of House and Potion Professor, Horace Slughorn, ever praised his work. Maybe because he always partners with Lily in Potions and Horace has a sweet tooth for her. Whenever they get an O which is all the time, he would always praise Lily for doing a good job, ignoring Snape for what he actually did.

 _"Now that I think about it, did Lily ever mention that I did most of the work?"_ he thought with a frown. Not once does he remember her ever correcting Horace, instead accepting the praise with a smile while he was overlooked. While he doesn't like Horace since all he cares about is having the most prestigious and wealthy students join his little "Slug Club", Snape would have liked to be given some sort of recognition for the potions he worked hard on. Of course with Lily being Horace's "best" student, she was offered to join the Slug Club which she accepted happily, himself overlooked and ignored yet again.

"-rus, are you listening?" asked Reginold with a frown when he notices Severus's eyes glaze over in thought.

Severus blinks out of his thoughts and blushes again but this time, in embarrassment at having lose himself so easily in his thoughts. Being actually praised by someone who he doesn't even know was enough for him to ignore his Occlumency training and lose himself in thought.

"I'm sorry about that, I spaced out for a bit" he said with a blush.

Paul waves his embarrassment off with a laugh. "Don't worry about it. This is probably coming in too fast anyway with the scholarship and all. I remember visiting a child brilliant in Transfiguration and when I offered her a scholarship, she fainted. That was always a good laugh" laughed Peter, not noticing Severus's own flabbergasted face.

 _"Scholarship? To Oliver Gardens?"_ Severus blinks three times in case he is actually in a dream. "I'm sorry sir but what is that about a scholarship" he had to ask.

Peter blinks owlishly for a moment at Severus before chuckling good naturally. "Wow, you must have been truly out of it" he chuckled before he coughs in his hand and gets serious. "Mr. Snape, Oliver Gardens would like to offer you a Potions scholarship and to attend after the summer holidays end."

Now Severus is truly flabbergasted. A prestigious school that only accepts the brightest actually wants him to join? It has to be too good to be through. But first questions. "Before I choose my answer, can I ask a couple of questions?"

Peter inwardly smirks when he hears that. "Of course. This is a big decision so go ahead."

 _"If he continues with this, he'll fit in perfectly"_ he thought, appreciating that the child has a more clever mindset than he'd thought. After all, this is a big step in a person's life and simply accepting it without considering their other options is never a smart thing to do.

"If I were to accept the scholarship, how exactly will I be able to make up all the points I've missed out on?" asked Severus, knowing how if he were to transfer, everyone else will have severely surpassed him points wise.

"That is what afterschool clubs are for" replied Peter. "Oliver Gardens has many clubs that provide extra credit to students who take part in them. Of course with you being a transferee, you will need to join more than one club if you want to make up enough credit to match everyone else in the year.

"Is there a Potions Club?"

"Why, yes there is" answered Peter with a smirk.

"What about accommodations? I don't exactly have a lot of money on me" said Severus, not liking the idea of his poor conditions being the reason that he can't enter the school.

"You won't have to worry about that" Peter waves the concerns away. "All accommodations are provided for the students as well as for food and studies. All you need to purchase are your school equipment. Quills, ink, notebooks and the likes."

"What about school houses?"

That where Peter frowns in distaste. "Oliver Gardens don't believe in that whole housing pattern Hogwarts do every year. It causes nothing more than prejudice and distrust to run rampant. At Oliver Gardens, everyone in equal, no matter who they are."

The more questions he asks, the more Severus is inclined to agree on the scholarship. "Am I allowed to transfer over to Oliver Gardens if Hogwarts doesn't want me to?" he asked, not once believing that the school or anyone in it would try to stop him from leaving. However, he prefers to be safe than sorry.

"Neither the headmaster nor the school board of Hogwarts can stop a student from transferring over. They might try to state that the other school isn't as good a Hogwarts but other than that, they have no right to stop you."

With no more questions to ask, Severus bites his bottom lip in thought. From what the professor has said, the school almost sounds all to good to be true. Only the brightest students go so maybe he can actually have a consversation with people who don't get confused at what he says. Something that happens way too often in the Slytherin Common Room. No houses, meaning that he won't be judged for what house he belongs in or who he is. A school that offers one of the best educations in the world. Better than that, no Marauders to make his life a living hell. And now, he doesn't have to worry about walking around Hogwarts with a broken heart eveytime he sees Lily with Potter.

"I accept" said Severus with a nod. Paul grins and Reginold's smile grows large.

"Excellent! I'll head back to the institute and give the headmaster the good news. I'll owl you everything you need to know sometime next week" said Paul who stands up along with Severus. He grabs the boy's hand and shakes it with enthusiasm. "I can't wait to see you in my class Mr. Snape." After bowing one last time to Reginold, Peter heads over to the fireplace and after throwing in the floo powder, he walks in the green flames with an extra skip to his step.

"This is wonderful news, this calls for a celebration" said Reginold before he claps his hands and summons two shot glasses and a bottle of his finest Firewhiskey. "Don't worry, I won't tell, anyone" he said with a wink as he pours both of them a glass. He passes the glass to Severus who looks at it for a moment before looking back up at the elder.

"Why did you give them my potion?" There's no anger in his words, just curiosity.

Reginold's smile drops slightly as he sighs. "Because I know that you can do amazing things Severus and you staying at Hogwarts is going to do nothing but hinder you."

"Hinder me? What do you mean?" asked Severus. Hogwarts gloats about being one of the best schools in Europe after all and with the strongest Wizard as headmaster, it just increases its reputation.

"What I mean is that those bullies are doing nothing to help your self-respect." Oliver looks deep into Severus's eyes, causing the boy to flinch from the powerful eyes and his words. "You don't appreciate yourself Severus and staying at Hogwarts isn't gonna improve that. The teachers are biased and bullying is allowed to run rampant on the grounds. Such things are strictly forbidden in Oliver Gardens since the punishment is expulsion." He takes another sip of the Firewhiskey, enjoying the burning sensation in his throat. "That's why I sent the potion. I believe attending Oliver Gardens will be good for you."

 _"What does he mean that I don't appreciate myself?"_ wondered Snape with a thoughtful frown. _"Does he mean my appearance?"_ He brushes a greasy lock away from his face. _"It's not like I can do anything about it. I don't know why my hair keeps getting greasy."_

It's always one of the many things James Potter and Sirius Black likes to make sure he understands by calling him a "Greasy git".

"Believe me, you'll thank me later" said Reginold before taking another sip. Soon Severus follows and takes a sip of his own drink.

Only for the room to be filled with Severus's gasps and choking and Reginold's laughter.

 **( 1976 June 22 - Spinners End )**

Mrs. Evans stands up from taking care of her flowerbeds and wipes the sweat off of her forehead with a proud smile on her face. She admires her flowers while mentally patting herself on the back for the good job done on them. Wiping away the dirt from her hands, she turns to the door but stops when her eyes catch the sight of a dusty dark house at the end of the road. She frowns, thinking of the boy who lives there and who would always visit to play with Lily. Such a lovely boy as well.

A month has pass since the summer holidays and she has yet to see any sign of Severus and can't help but worry about him. His mother is dead because of his deadbeat father who's stewing away in a prison cell and now he's all alone, not a family member to his name. She wouldn't usually worry because he would stay with them for the summer as he tends to do every year. Not this time since Lily and Severus seem to be having some sort of fight with each other.

She remembers picking up Lily from the train station and obviously noticed how Severus wasn't with her. When asked, Lily glared at nothing and told her that he wasn't coming with them. Of course, she didn't move until everyone else left. She eventually did leave an hour later since it was obvious that he wasn't coming. When they got home, she and her husband asked about Severus. Mrs. Evans didn't like her daughter's answer.

 _"We're not friends anymore. He called me a m-mudblood at school! In front of everyone! Can you believe that! And I was trying to help him when James prank went over the top."_

Lily has mentioned James Potter a few times over the years and is obviously interested in the boy. While she wouldn't mind a boy taking her daughter out at her age, she doesn't like how Lily mentioned that James was pranking on Severus. She was told that he tends to be a prankster at school but what Lily failed to mention is that Severus is the one being pranked on by the boy.

 _"As if his life isn't hard enough as it is. Bullies are the last thing he needs"_ she thought with a frown. If Lily ever brought the boy home, she'll need to have a very long conversation with him if he's gonna ever have her blessing to date Lily. Her husband's as well.

Besides, she wants to hear Severus's side of the story before making any judgement. He has been a part of their family for years and she just can't see the reason why he would suddenly talk bad about Lily. She finds it hard to believe that one bad word is enough to break a nine year friendship. Lily did say that he's apparently hanging around the wrong crowd at school, something that even Petunia finds a bit overdramatic since the bad crowd he's hanging out with are from the same house he's in. Even with that reasoning, Lily refuses to deny that Severus is slowly turning dark.

Mrs. Evans refuses to believe that until she talks with Severus which isn't easy with him not being home for the last month. She just can't help but worry about the boy.

 **( September 5 1976 - Ministry of Magic )**

Both Reginold and Severus are at the Ministry of Magic and are standing by an international floo which Severus will use to get to America.

"B-But I can't" said Severus as he pushes away the offered bag of galleons.

"Severus Snape, you are taking the galleons and you aren't leaving here until you do" ordered Reginold with a stern glare.

Today's the day that Severus is going to Oliver Gardens and he would have left five minutes ago if it isn't for the owner of the Apothecary insisting on taking a pouch full of galleons.

"I just can't sir. I've already saved up enough from working here. I can't take anymore" said Severus, refusing to take the pouch.

Reginold sighs and prays to Merlin that the boy doesn't come back as stubborn as he is now. He takes the boy's hand and places the pouch in his palm before he can resist. "Don't think of it as charity but as a raise. You've been working hard for me for years now and it's about time you got one" he told Snape sternly.

Severus frowns but can't deny that logic so he looks at the pouch in his hand and reluctantly places it in the pocket in his robes. "Thank you."

"Now, was that so hard?" asked Reginold with a smirk before he brushes down Severus's clothes. Being that Oliver Gardens has no uniform, Severus has gone with a white shirt with Slytherin green, lining the collar. Over the shirt is a open black robe and for pants, he adorns a pair of black jeans he got in the Muggle city, London. He never got Muggle clothing before and is surprised to find that it's so comfortable. That's why he splurged a bit on himself by using his savings and bought a pair of black and white Nike trainers that fit him like a glove.

"Now off with ya. Don't want to keep them waiting do ya?" Reginold shoos him off towards the fireplace.

Severus grumbles as he walks to the fireplace and takes a handful of floo powder. Once he throws the powder and calls out the name of the institute, green fire erupt to life. He turns around and looks at the man who made all this possible, feeling a bit reluctant to leave. The nod from the elder strengthens his resolve and after taking a deep breath, he takes a step towards the fire and disappears within it.

 **( Diagon Alley - Gringotts )**

The Goblin owned bank is as busy as ever with the Goblins counting away gold, silver, bronze, galleons and knuts. Wizards from the common folk to the heads of Noble Houses all walk in and out to either make deposits or to use Gringotts many other services.

Inside a large luscious office is a wrinkly old Goblin who is writing away on another form for a Witch's new vault which he is watching over. He silently continues his work until he notices his log book glow a bright yellow which he knows signifies that there is a change in one of the vaults he's watching over. Pushing away the form to one side, he takes his log book and opens it to see what changes are there.

Due to him having a lot of vaults to watch over, he has a Charm on the log book to explain the details of the changes on the front page. Looking at the page, he reads it over and does it again twice to make sure he isn't reading it wrong.

 _"Mmm, so Apollo finally bit the dust. Isn't too bad, he was a strong one. One hundred and twenty is an honourable age to die"_ thought the Goblin with a smirk that looks to be more of a snarl than anything else. _"Now then, let's see who's the next heir of the Prince name."_

The Goblins flips several pages before landing on the one that has the words "Prince" on the top of the page. The page has a list of names that reach back all the way to Merlin's time. There're around twenty names on the page with all of them with a red line going through the middle of their names. The Goblin reads down the list but soon starts to feel panic rise in his heart when the red lines keep appearing on the names, signifying that person's death. If there isn't a heir to the family name, all of the riches will just go to the Ministry, something that all Goblins hate to see happen. And it looks like there's a red line for everyone on the list.

All their names but one.

Releasing the breath he didn't even know he was holding, the Goblin runs his finger down the list and stops at the bottom where it lands on a lone name that doesn't have a red line going through it.

 _Severus Prince-Snape_

With a nod, the Goblin takes out a black piece of parchment and a Quill and starts writing. He needs to inform the boy immediately.

 **( USA - Oliver Gardens )**

When he steps out of the floo, Severus takes in the sight of a massive halfway that somewhat resembles the black marbled floo corridor within the British Ministry of Magic. Only real difference is that the interior is of welcoming red wallpaper with mahogany benches between every fireplace and the floor even has a lush red carpet covering it which just only brightens the hall even more.

The hallway is full of people of all ages walking in and out of floos while making their way to whatever destination they're going. Few people gave him brief glances but that's all which he's thankful for. Pulling out his wind, he gives it a few twirls before the sooth on his clothes disappear.

"Severus Snape?"

Turning his head to whoever called him, Severus notices a young pretty woman with green hair in a bun making her way towards him. She looks to be around her mid to late twenties if he guesses right. What he especially notices is how her black robes hug her curves almost like a second skin, something which is quite frowned upon in Britain.

 _"I'm here for five minutes and I'm already loving it"_ he thought to himself, happy that he finally mastered his Occlumency enough to keep out any Legiliments that might try to enter his mind and read his thoughts. It took many tiring weeks to finish with the tweaks but he now has his mind perfectly closed off to all outside intruders. All he needs now is someone who can help him compare results since the only person who would help him was Reginold who is the only person he knows to have training in Legilimency but he isn't seriously experienced in it. He'll have to ask if there's anyone at the institute who's skilled with Legilimency.

"Yes, that's me" he replied, giving a respectful bow to the older woman. She may be young but she's still older than he is and those pair of glasses she wears does give her a mature vibe.

"It's good to meet you. I'm Sarah Felix and I work at Oliver Gardens as the head master's secretary. Follow me if you would." Without missing a beat, she turns around and starts walking down the hallway and starts writing on a notepad. Severus quickly follows and his long legs make fast work to keep up with the secretary. "I've been instructed to give you a quick tour of the facility so if you have any questions you want to ask, go ahead" said Sarah with a smile, her Self-Writing Quill still writing away.

"Is there anyone here who's skilled with Legilimency?"

Sarah raises a brow, not ever hearing that as a first question before. Usually the new students would be going on about where's the cafes or about the Quidditch team. Never about studies. "Oh? Do you have an interest in learning Legilimency?" she asked as they walk through the large double doors that lead them outside. She finds the art of mind reading interesting as well and likes the idea of the younger generation getting into it as well.

Severus looks thoughtful before he shakes his head.

 _"Legilimency would take up too much of my time and I'm already busy enough with my latest experiment"_ he thought while thinking back the the potion he has been hoping to make for a month. In fact, the potion he's working on is the one he hopes to use when he applies for his Masters in Potions. "Not that. I've mastered Occlumency so I want to test how good it is with someone who has experience with Legilimency. My employer helped me a little bit but he isn't any good with that type of Magic."

Sarah stops mid-step and so Severus stops two steps ahead of her and turns to her, blinking at her look of disbelief. "Did I say something wrong?" asked Severus, feeling some tension in the air.

"You said you mastered Occlumency, is that true?" Sarah asked, disbelief in her voice. Someone of his age can't possibly master the art of Occlumency which takes most people a lifetime to get down right.

Severus's nerves start to kick in, feeling pretty unsure with how she's addressing him. "Yes it is, why?"

"May I test it?" she asked. Even her Self-Writing Quill has stop writing and the tip is pointing towards him like as if it's looking at him with a blank stare. "I'm pretty experienced with Legilimency so maybe I can test it for you now?"

"Really?" asked Severus, surprised that she knows Legilimency and is willing to help him. Not a lot of people do that for him lately.

"Sure I can. I don't have to drop you off for at least another hour so I don't see anything wrong with wasting away a couple of minutes" she said with a smile. "You ready?" she asked which he nods. "Ok but this might sting a bit so bear with me."

With his second nod, she makes eye contact with him and attempts to break into his mind, of course, not to browse any of his memories as that would get her immediately fired and arrested. To her surprise, she can actually feel his mental walls and gives them a push. Since they aren't budging she pushes a little harder but still, his walls remain standing. The don't even crack from the pressure. Giving it a few more attempts, she pushes against the walls as hard as she can and fights with his mental defence for a few moments. After a few minutes and having only scratched the walls. she pulls back, feeling amazed that someone so young has mastered the difficult art of Occlumency. She's been studying it for five years now and she can barely put up half as good defence that Severus has. While it isn't perfect, it's definitely classed as a masters, something that should be impossible for someone of his age.

Feeling the secretary leave his mind, Severus rubs his head to ease the slight throbbing pain. "Well, how was I?" he asked, wanting to know how good his defence is.

"I've got to say Mr. Snape, I am impressed" said Sarah with a bright smile. "Paul did say that you're clever but I think he was putting it mildly. Occlumency usually takes years for someone to master and many simply don't have the patience for it. For someone your age to have it mastered, truly incredible" she complimented. Her Quill goes back to writing on the notepad in her hands but is doing it more quickly.

Again, blush fills Severus's cheeks as the older woman compliments him. While he felt satisfactory when Paul complimented his potion skills, a beautiful woman like Sarah doing it is a bit too embarrassing for him. After all, no other girl but Lily ever gave him the time of day which he blames on his greasy hair and crooked nose. While here, he hopes to at least do something with his hair, knowing that his nose is a lost cause after the little "prank" by he Marauders. He never did a thing with his hair since Lily always said she doesn't care about his appearance. Now that her opinion doesn't matter anymore, he hopes to do something about it.

"We should continue with the tour" said Sarah as she continues walking.

While walking around, Severus looks around in amazement as he sees all sort of Magic being used in different ways. Dozens of large connected buildings surround the areas with patches of grass beside a few. He already saw a pamphlet of the school which has a map on it and he already knows how large the school is. While Hogwarts is a large school, it has nothing on Oliver Gardens who forsakes a giant castle and instead, has a wide area of large buildings that are used for classes, clubs, student housings and events. The closest resemblance he can think of the institute is the town of Hogsmeade but it's almost twice the size of the Magical Town.

After an hour of touring, Sarah brings Severus into the infirmary, much to the former Slytherin's surprise. "What are we doing here?" he asked, feeling unsure on why they're here.

"All our students get checkups to make sure they are feeling one hundred percent. Our main objective here is the students education and we can fulfill that if they have an injury that's holding them back" told Sarah.

"I guess that makes sense" mumbled Severus who isn't exactly happy. He has only been here for an hour and is already in the infirmary. He can almost taste the nostalgia. The pair walk towards one of the few desks in the large room that has around a dozen beds lining up against opposite walls. Sitting by the desk they're heading to is a beautiful long, brown haired woman who is wearing a short skirt with a light pink wool jumper that's underneath a open white cloak. Just like the secretary, she's wearing a pair of glasses but what has Severus's attention are the pair of high DD-Cup breasts that are straining the wool of her jumper.

 _"Dear Merlin! Those can't be real!"_ he thought in disbelief. He has never been one to pay attention to other girls except for Lily but even he knows that those kind of breasts can't be possible. _"Maybe it's a charm?"_ Blinking a bit, Severus takes a thoughtful expression, wondering if such a charm is possible and being a young boy, he makes a mental note to study up on it.

"Hey, Sarah" the Healer greeted before casting her eyes to Severus. Like she expected, his eyes glance over to her tits with a look of utter disbelief. Although, she does find it surprising that in a few seconds, instead of him drooling over her like every other student has done, he makes a thinking expression, seemingly trying to figure something out in his head.

 _"Well, that's a new one."_

"Hey Alex" greeted the secretary with a wave.

"And who's this?" asked Alex as her eyes land back to Severus who comes out of his stupor.

"He's the new transfer student so we just want to have him checked up before we ship him off" said Sarah who pushes up her glasses up her nose.

Alex seems to perk up as she gets right up in Severus's face with a very excitable expression. "So _you're_ Severus Snape" she stated with a big grin. Severus takes a few hurried steps back from the woman so he can have his personal space back.

"You know who he is?" asked Sarah, raising a brow.

"Know him? My word, when the others hear that he's here, they're going to mob him the first chance they get. After all, we've got a little celebrity here" told Alex with a smirk as she eyes Severus in a way that makes him squirm underneath her gaze. "This little genius has revolutionized medicine." She gets back into Severus's space with a glint in her eyes. "Tell me, how did you do it? Did you add more or less honey? Maybe Frost Salts? That would explain the cold temperature." She starts to rant away in her own mind, seemingly forgetting to interrogate the creator.

Sarah coughs into her hand which gets Alex's attention. "If you don't mind, you can interrogate him all you want when you finish his check up."

Alex blinks a few times and looks at Sarah with a lost expression before suddenly grinning. "No problem" said Alex before she spins on her stool and moved away some of the items that litters her desk. With a triumphant shout, she spins around again and with a wave of her wand which she found on her desk, she summons a stool in front of herself. "Take a seat. This shouldn't take too long" she said with a smile.

Without a reply, Severus takes a seat on the stool and with all his willpower, does his best to keep eye contact with the voluptuous Witch.

With a cheerful smile and hum, Alex twirls her wand in the air a few times and uses the Analysis Spell on Severus so she can see the damage done. Severus glows a light blue colour before all sorts of different colours envelop his person.

"Dear Merlin" gasped Alex with eyes wide with horror.

Page 18 of 18


	2. Oliver Gardens

**( September 5 1976 - Oliver Gardens Infirmary )**

Severus raises a brow at the horror stricken expression all over the healer's face and glances at the secretary who has the same look on hers. He looks down at himself and sees his entire body glowing more colours than a rainbow! Severus crosses his eyes so he can see his nose that is doing a good resemblance to that of Santa's favourite reindeer.

 _"What the bloody hell!? Merlin's beard, I look like Rudolph!"_ thought Severus with a twitch to his right brow.

"How are you still standing?" whispered Alex, having yet to come out of her shock.

"Excuse me?" asked Severus but Alex just now gets out of her stupor and starts taking action.

"Sarah, get me that vial over there!" ordered Alex as she points across the room to a vial on a desk. Sarah moves for it immediately, knowing the importance of said potion.

Severus makes a move to stand but grabs the sides of the stool when it rolls to a bed by a swish of Alex's wand. Another wave of the wand and Severus finds himself levitating off the stool and onto a infirmary bed. He raises his head but Alex walks to his side and pushes her wand down on his forehead to have him ly down. "I don't think so, Mister Snape. As the head healer, I am ordering you to stay in bed" she said with a no nonsense tone.

"Why? Is there something wrong with me?" asked Severus, unsure what's going on.

"Wrong?" Alex gives him a look of utter disbelief. "What's wrong is that you're walking around with cracked ribs and bruised muscles! And you asking me, what's wrong!?"

Severus looks at the healer, feeling a little bit put off. Yes, there's a few stings here and there but with the Marauders pranks always getting him in the infirmary, he's gotten use to them. "I'm sure there's nothing too serious" he insisted but a glare from Alex sliences him.

"I've been a healer for half of my life so I can tell if something is serious or not and might I say that you're injuries are some of the worst I've ever seen on someone your age" told Alex. "Fractured ribs, bruised muscles, internal bleeding and malnutrition! I'm amazed that you're as tall as you are now. What kind of incompetent healer does Hogwarts have if they ignore these sort of injuries on one of their students?."

Severus stares at her, feeling a bit of a shock at the list of injuries and from the look in her eyes, there's most likely more. "The Hogwarts healer never once mentioned those sort of injuries before" he told Alex, although he knows perfectly well how he got them. "She usually just gave me a Healing Draught and leave me be for a day or two."

"A simple Healing Draught? Mr. Snape, these injuries require at least a week of some serious help" said Alex before thanking Sarah for the vial. "Now drink this" she ordered him while bringing the vial to his lips.

"Isn't _that_ a Healing Draught?" Severus deadpanned to the healer upon recognizing the red liquid in the vial.

"Don't be a smart ass. If you weren't so injured, I'd hit you across the head but I guess that can wait for later" said Alex with a light glare. "Just so you know, yes, this is a Healing Draught but the one you made yourself. Now drink."

"Yes ma'am" Severus grumbled before letting the red liquid pour into his mouth. Ignoring the burning tangy taste, Severus feels a familiar warm feeling that stretches out from his stomach but instead of stopping within seconds, it continues to spread a warm feeling all over his body. Now he knows that's one of his creations because of its potency.

"Now, usually the draught would take a week to kick in but with it being your own creation, most of your injuries should be healed within a couple of days" told Alex before she takes a clipboard from the end of Severus's bed and writes into it.

"Most of my injuries?" repeated Severus as he looks at the healer for a answer.

Alex looks up from her writing at Severus. "Yes. While the draught will fix your fractured ribs, bones and the internal bleeding, you'll need to take a few nutrition potions for the next couple of weeks. No wonder your nothing but skin and bones" she said before getting back into her writing.

Severus opens his mouth to make a rude comment but stops himself. There's no point of him saying anything bad to the healer who's just doing her job. Besides, she doesn't need to know about his life at home or school.

Unknown to Severus, Alex already has a fair idea of what his life has been like and intends to have a talk with the headmaster about it.

"So much for you meeting the headmaster" said Sarah with a sigh. "I better go now. I'm gonna need to tell him about the situation." With a nod to Alex and Severus, she leaves the infirmary and heads to the headmaster's office.

"And you" said Alex, pointing her clipboard to a prone Severus. "You're gonna be staying here for the next couple of days and I'm not taking a no as an answer. I don't care if I have to tie you to the bed and take your wand away. Besides..." Alex sits on the stool beside the bed and grins down at Severus who looks up at her with an uneasy expression. "We can spend all our time talking about your Healing Draughts."

Severus eyes the door and wonders if he can make it before she can stop him.

 **( September 12 1976 - Hogwarts )**

Two weeks have passed since another year has started in Hogwarts and everything has gone back to normal. The Marauders are causing mayhem throughout the school, tryouts for the Quidditch teams are underway and teachers are handing out test results to their students.

"B-But sir, this can't be right" said Lily Evans to Horace Slughorn who looks at the Gryffindor, feeling disappointed with her. Both are standing alone in the Potions Classroom after class ended and Lily should have left with her friends as well if it isn't for the piece of paper in her hands that she wanted answers for.

"I'm sorry to say Miss Evan's but I am quite disappointed with your results. It seems to me that you haven't been studying your potions over the summer" said Horace with a frown. He hates to do it but not even he can ignore the disappointing results.

Lily looks shakily at her test paper that has a big red P on it. She can't believe that she did this bad in Potions and on a theory test as well! "Are you sure that you didn't just correct it wrong?" she asked, hoping to grasp at some string of hope that her test result is actually nothing but a miscalculation on Slughorn's part.

"The first time I corrected it, I thought so too so I redid it again but there was no mistake in my correcting. I'm sorry to say this but you're gonna need to show some more improvement if you're going to pass my class Miss Evan's" told Horace before shooing her out of his classroom so he can get to teaching the second years who are waiting outside the door of the class.

Lily merely walks out, unsure of what to do. After all, she has never once gotten a failing grade before with her worst being an A in History of Magic. What could have happened?

 _"Maybe I didn't study as much as I should have"_ she thought to herself before she thinks back to last week when she was studying for the test. She remembers herself studying in the library with her friends, Mary and Alice. Well, she and Alice were studying while Mary was going on and on about boys. Then James and his friends came and invited them for a picnic by Black Lake and not one being able to refuse cute boys, they left with them. She can't remember ever picking up a potion book after that.

 _"Merlin, I can't believe I did that"_ she thought with a frown. She's gonna need to up her game if she wants to pass Potions. _"Everything was so much easier when I was studying with Sev-"_ she cuts her thoughts short when she realizes who she's starting to think about. The same person who she thought of as her best friend who had called her the most insulting name that someone could say to a Muggleborn. And after she helped him when James was picking on him. Pushing away the memories of her former best friend, she heads off to meet her friends for Charms class. At least she knows that she's good at that.

 **( September 12 1976 - Oliver Gardens Infirmary )**

Severus opens his eyes but immediately closes them to block out the light in his eyes. With a grunt, he raises his upper body up and rests it against the pillows so he can look around the room. For the whole week, he has been holed up in his infirmary bed instead of taking classes like everyone else.

 _"As if I wasn't far enough already"_ he thought in distaste. He could have gotten so much studying and research done but all he could do for the week was write away new ideas into his journal and make sure that Alex doesn't get a peep into it which she has been doing her best to do ever since he first took it out. Good thing he has security measures on the journal which includes Protection Charms, Burn Charms as well as a Disappearing Ink Charm which causes the ink to disappear if someone other than him tries to read his journal.

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey" sang Alex who skips through the doors with a floating tray of food following her lead.

Severus groans, feeling too tired at the moment to handle the healer's happy mood. He has yet to get use to the happy atmosphere of the school or the healer's constant trial of getting information out of his brain. The worse was when the other healers found out from Alex about him being the one to conjure up the Healing Draught. It took a lot for him to not shoot out some Spells when they all mobbed him. The only good news is that he's suppose to get out of the infirmary today so he can finally start his classes.

 _"I should seriously need to start joining a few clubs"_ he thought to himself, knowing that joining a couple of clubs will help improve his scores with the extra credit. He already has the Potions and Dueling Club in mind but he's going to need to join another if he wants to catch up with everyone else who have a large head start on him.

"Good morning" he moaned out to the Head Healer of Oliver Gardens Infirmary.

"Good morning to you too sunshine" said Alex with a cheer as she skips to the bottom of Severus's bed. She stops but then her smile falters for a moment and she blinks a few times, seemingly not sure what she's looking at. Soon enough, her smile reappears, although a bit wider.

Severus eyes her suspiciously since after spending a week in her company, he knows that she tends to get playful at times.. Not Marauders level of 'playful' but one where she will do something odd to the other few students who end up in the infirmary. Last evening, she changed a student's clothes to a disgusting neon pink and while the Wizard wasn't impressed with what she did, they all did have a laugh at the end of it all. He won't admit it to anyone else but he did silently chuckle to it when nobody was looking.

"How are we feeling today?" asked Alex as she jumps onto her stool which spins to the sudden weight on it. The floating tray of food flies over onto Severus's lap who says his thanks to the healer before digging in on the fry of sausages, rashers, egg, baked beans and pudding. To wash it all down, there's a glass of pumpkin juice for him.

"Better" he said simply, altough it's the truth. Those aches in his bones have now all but vanished and now, it feels like he can take on the world with how good he feels.

"I can see that" said Alex with a knowing smirk.

Severus narrows his eyes suspiciously at the Witch who is grinning away at him with a certain smirk that has him on edge. "What's got you so happy?"

"Aren't I always happy?" remarked Alex, feigning ignorance.

"Annoyingly so but you're looking at me as if I'm Merlin himself back from the dead so how about spitting it out?" He can feel it all coming out now. A week of bottling up all his snarky comments seems to be his limit before the dam finally blows.

"My word, did your mother teach you how to speak like that?" asked Alex, not once feeling insulted with his tone. Not the first time she has been dealing with moody teenagers. Comes with the job after all.

Severus sighs and pulls back his attitude again. Hard thing to do since he got the attitude ever since meeting those damn Marauders. "I'm sorry about that" apologized Severus with an apologetic nod.

Alex smiles and waves away his concerns. "Don't worry about it. If I was cooped up here for a week, I'd be getting cranky as well" she laughed. Severus doesn't but he smiles now that the tension in the room is gone. "And just so you know, the reason I'm so happy is because it seems to me that your Healing Draught did a much better job than I thought." Seeing Severus's puzzled expression, she levitates a mirror over to him.

What Severus sees in the mirror shocks him to his core.

Where was once a large hooked nose that was made by the Marauders, there now lays a small, unabused nose that doesn't have the hook from before. A shaking hand reaches up and touches it so he can be sure that it's actually his own. "H-How? Poppy said that it couldn't be healed."

"If this Poppy is the same Witch who never once noticed your injuries before, I wouldn't be too surprised" scoffed Alex. "A normal Healing Draught couldn't heal the broken cartilage of your nose but it's a good thing that _somebody_ made one that does." Severus doesn't even care when the healer pinches his cheek playfully, he's way too busy gazing at his nose that actually looks normal for a change.

Seeing that the boy is distracted, Alex uses the Analysis Spell on him again and hums happily when she sees that most of his person is glowing a healthy blue with just mere spots here and there but they are already shrinking away. She remembers last week when she used the Spell on him and how he lit up brighter than a christmas tree. It doesn't take a genius for someone to figure out that Severus Snape has been living an abusive life. With the clear evidence, she has already explained the situation to the rest of the faculty so they can slowly ease him in to a better life in Oliver Gardens. If they press him too much, all the mental strain could cause him some serious problems. Although, there is Sarah who told her that he has Occlumency mastered and if that's true, then he could be holding back a lot more pain than they realize. More of a reason to help.

"As much as you must love admiring yourself in the mirror, I did promise the headmaster that I would get you to your first class for today" said Alex who walks by Severus's bed. Severus blushes in embarrassment as Alex taps her wand against the wall. When she does, cracks appear on the wall before breaking apart to show a clean white door. "Seeing as it's ten past eight and class starts at half past, I don't think you would make it if you went to your apartment to shower so you can use one here." Alex turns and makes her way down the aisle of beds to another injured student.

Watching her walk away, Severus gets up from bed after a week of lying down and feels the strain in his muscles due to not being used for so long. Thinking about his strained muscles reminds Severus of another project he thought of during his stay in bed but puts those thoughts away for now.

He has a much needed shower to get to.

 **( Oliver Gardens - Transfiguration Class )**

Twenty minutes later, Severus runs along and barely catches the closing door behind the last student who enters the classroom. He's lucky that the class is so close to the infirmary since he doesn't even want to imagine how late he would be if the class is in another building or worst, at the other side of the school. While he did get a tour from Sarah, he didn't properly memorize his way around and they've barely walked halfway around the school before the hour ended. Besides, he barely had enough time to shower and put on his clothes and he didn't even get time to check his hair. While he takes a breath and makes a mental note to scour the school grounds, he walks in to the first class of his new school.

When he walks in, he sees that most of the students are already sitting down at their desks while the professor is writing away on the blackboard with white chalk.

"Now class, I hope you've been practicing with your hand motions because we've g-" The professor turns around and takes note of the long haired boy who's awkwardly standing by the door. "Ah, you must be the new transfer student, Severus Snape."

Almost automatically, all the students turn around to look over at Severus and they start to whisper to one another while curiously glancing over at him. Severus does note that quite a few of the female students are giving him looks that reminds him of how Lily would look at Potter. Flashing their eyelashes at him while giving him small waves and smiles with a few having a blush tinge their cheeks.

This catches him by surprise since he never got such attention from anyone like that in Hogwarts but guesses that it must have something to do with his recently healed nose. He never even thought that having his nose fixed would be enough because even without the hook nose, he never thought of himself as good looking. Maybe alright but nothing much. Definitely not what James Potter or Sirius Black gets.

Unknown to a disbelieving Severus, his shower has smoothed down and cleaned his greasy hair. Now, it has a smooth silky shine to it as it frames both sides of his face which enhances his jaw line.

"Quiet down now" ordered the Transfiguration Professor and no sooner does he say that does the whispers stop. "Don't be frightened now. Take a seat beside Rachael if you will" he said to Severus, pointing towards the only spare seat left.

Severus nods his head and takes the seat beside the girl called Rachael. He turns to greet her but jumps out of his seat when he sees that she has a mouth of a horse.

"Rachael" growled the Professor to the horse-mouth girl who laughs away alongside the students.

"I'm sorry Professor Scott but I couldn't help myself" she laughed and to the shock of Severus, the mouth changes into a pair of femine full lips. Now that she isn't looking like some sort of messed up version of a Centaur, Severus sees that she's actually a fine beauty with her smooth blue hair that reaches down her back as well as a pair of crystal blue eyes. Those tight jeans and the green shirt with a Hippogriff on it does little to nothing to hide her figure.

 _"She's a Metamorphmagus"_ thought Severus in surprise since Metamorphmagus's are very rare in the Wizardry community. He looks around at the laughing classroom and widens his eyes as memories of his school days flashing before his eyes. They all resemble the same people who would laugh at him whenever the Marauders would prank him in public.

 _"This is no different from before."_

"Dude, you alright?" asked a shaved, mocha-skinned student who, like everyone else, notices the new student suddenly look around the room like as if one of them is a dragon under a Polyjuice Potion. The laughter stops but that does nothing to deter Severus from keeping his guard up around them.

Remembering a certain conversation with the school's Head Healer, Professor Scott decides to try and calm the situation. "Mister Snape, could you take back your seat so I can start class. I'm sure your neighbour will behave unless she wants to spend the rest of her afternoon helping me dust away cobwebs underneath the tables." The underlying threat causes Rachael to stiffen, especially when the professor looks at her with eyes of steel. Eyes that tell her that he will follow his threat to the word.

"Of course, Professor Scott. I wouldn't even dream of it" said Rachael as her long blue hair suddenly turns pink.

Following his professor's orders, Severus takes back his seat, although reluctantly. Something that isn't missed by Rachael.

"Now class, I hope you studied for the week because now, we're going to see it all pay off" said Scott before he waves his wand and summons a teapot onto the desks of each student. "Remember to surprise me. Transfigure what your imagination requires you to. By the way, do not fret over this Severus. You won't be losing any marks today but tomorrow, I expect your full concentration."

Severus nods his head gratefully before looking down at the teapot. Reluctantly, he looks around and sees that everyone is transfiguring their teapots into the most random of things, although a few of them he can see aren't doing much of a good job. Two girls have already transfigured their's into rabbits that are hopping around the room togethor. Another student transfigures their own into a sword that he is dramatically brandishing from atop his chair before the professor transfigures it back and warns him to not be messing around. By his side, the Metamorphmagus transfigures her teapot into a slinky of all things.

Looking down at his own, he shrugs before he waves his wand over the teapot and thinks of the first thing that comes to mind. What he never expects is for his transfiguration to actually work. Transfiguration is one of the two classes he doesn't do well in with the second one being Charms. It usually takes more than a few attempts for him to get his attempts somewhat right. Coincidentally, both classes are the two that requires one's wand to be used and the most mental concentration. He has never been good in either class, even as Lily took over Charms as the best student and Potter with Transfiguration, similar to how he's the best in Potions, even if nobody will admit it. Besides, those two classes are the only subjects that he didn't get an O for his OWL results.

So that's why that when he attempts to transfigure the teapot, he didn't actually expect it to work perfectly. How he knows it works perfectly is because what use to be a teapot is now a small lizard breathing fire.

All action stop to the sound of squawking so everyone looks over at Severus's desk that now has a baby dragon puffing out harmless puffs of fire and smoke. The most amusing part is that Rachael has fallen off of her chair once she took notice of the dragon that is now looking down at her from atop the desk with a tilt of its head.

Professor Scott makes his way down the line of tables and stops by Severus's to get a closer look. "My word, an actual baby dragon and a Chinese Fireball of all things" gasped the Transfiguration Professor who's too busy admiring the dragon to notice Severus's own surprised expression. "Full marks young man" said Scott with a proud smile. "I'll be expecting good things out of you now that you've set the bar."

Severus doesn't hear him, having lost all senses but sight as the miniature Chinese Fireball looks up a him with what he guesses to be a confused expression. A million thoughts are going through his head as to how he just did one of the more difficult Transfigurations. Transfiguring an object to a living creature doesn't take a lot of skill but transfiguring said object to an actual living, fire breathing baby dragon of all things can only be done by experts and that's the last thing he is. Merlin, he could barely turn a rat into a chalice back at Hogwarts.

 _"What in Merlin's beard is going on!?"_

"Aww~, isn't she cute" cooed Rachael, having gotten the surprise out of her system and is now back in her seat, waggling a finger over at the baby dragon who follows its movements. Like what one expects, Rachael pulls back her finger after it tries to nip at it. "Not so cute now, are ya" she mumbled.

Severus gets out of his stupor after coming to thought with what happened. "It's a dragon, it isn't suppose to be cute" he deadpanned to the Metamorphmagus.

Rachael pouts at him. "Don't be like that. Anything can be cute if small enough" she said but scratches the back of her head and chuckles awkwardly. "Sorry about earlier. Everyone else has gotten use to me being a Metamorphmagus so I couldn't help myself when new blood appears" she apologized, although Severus is still a bit wary of her. She offers her right hand. "How about we start again. Hi, I'm Rachael O'Brian and you are?"

Severus notes the Irish name and the accent in her voice. "Severus Snape" he answered, shaking her hand a bit tensely.

Rachael also takes in Severus's own voice. "You've got one hell of a voice" she said with a grin as her hair turns to the same shade of black as Severus's own. She wraps her arms tightly around Severus's right arm and looks up at him, pleadingly. "Can you say to me, Rachael darling" she asked, bashing her eyelashes at him.

"No" deadpanned Severus, not falling for it. Of course, he sits besides probably the most forward person in the class.

"That's enough" sighed Rachael happily when she hears the smooth voice that makes her knees weak. The same thing can be said to the other female students who can hear him as they all seem to love his smooth voice.

Severus tries to pull his arm away but Rachael's grip has locked it securely in place and no amount of pushing or pulling is getting her to let go.

 **( Potions Classroom )**

"Will ya let go of me now!?"

"Nope. Besides, you're new here and need some friends. I can introduce you to mine later."

Severus grumbles as he walks into the classroom with the same girl holding off of his arm. After Transfiguration ended, the students crowded all over Severus with many complimenting away at how he transfigured up a dragon. Then there were personal questions like where he's from, what school he transferred from and if he has a girlfriend.

His last answer left a few Witches happy.

Yet, no matter how many times he threatens her, Rachael refuses to let go of his appendage. So with a sigh, he can do nothing but take a front row seat with the Metamorphmagus taking the seat beside him.

"You know, a lot of guys would be happy to have a pretty girl like me hanging off of them" said Rachael as her hair returns to blue which is what Severus guesses is her favourite hair colour but with her being a Metamorphmagus, it's impossible to tell.

"I'm not one of those guys" said Severus, simply not caring.

"I can tell" replied Rachael with a smirk before letting go of Severus's arm who's happy to have it back. "Maybe it's because you're batting for the other team?" she asked with a knowing smirk.

"I'm not even gonna respond to that." That doesn't lessen Rachael's smirk though, something that disgruntles him.

"Quiet down class and take your seats" said Paul Deegan who enters from a door by the side of the room. With a flick of his wand, the chalk starts to write away on the board. "Today, you will all pair up and collect your cauldrons. Today, we'll be brewing some Hiccoughing Potions. If you don't know the recipe, I'll write it on the board" said Paul as the chalk writes the recipe up. That's when he notices a new student sitting in the front desk with the ever changing and playful Rachael. "Ah~, Severus, good to see you finally made it. And here I thought Alex was going to keep you in bed forever."

"She tried her best" replied Severus with humour.

"I bet she did" laughed Paul. "Usually, I wouldn't let you brew since you're just starting off today but I'm guessing I can let you brew anyway" he said, knowingly.

Severus nods and already gets into action. Rachael has already gathered up half the ingredients so he goes off to get the rest. After collecting and placing them on the table, he gets to work and is happy to see that Rachael isn't being idle either and is preparing the ingrediants. Before he can start cutting up the Deathbell, Rachael grabs his hand to stop him. "Yes?" he asked, not liking to be disturbed when he starts to brew.

"What about your hair?" she asked as if it's the simplest thing in the world.

"What about it?"

"Aren't you going to tie it back?" she asked him while giving him a look. As she ways that, a band wraps around her hair to make a ponytail.

"Why would I do that? I can work well with my hair like this" he replied, not seeing the problem with it.

"Not that. Don't you know that the fumes will get into your hair and damage it" she said with an amused smirk. "Have you never done potions before?"

Severus stares at her blankly for a few moments before he blinks twice. "I guess I haven't" he murmured in thought. He has been brewing potions for most of his young life and not once has anyone mentioned about potion fumes damaging hair. _"At least I know why my hair was greasy"_ he thought while rubbing a smooth lock between his fingers. Usually, time that he should have used to shower was spent with brewing potions but it seems that he has been just causing more problems for it.

"Here, you can use one of mine. I've got a ton of them anyway" said Rachael as she offers him one of her hair bands. Severus looks at the red hair band and after contemplating how much time he's running out on his potion, he takes it and uses it to tie back his long hair, leaving two bangs to drape at both sides of his face which further enhances his jaw line. Something that Rachael takes note of.

 _"Oh yes, we're gonna be very good friends"_ she thought, eying Severus with a tinge of pink dusting her cheeks. Being a hormonal teenage girl, she knows when a boy is classed as good looking or not and she must say that the transfer student has tipped the scales.

Long, smooth hair that looks to be silky to the touch, a pair of the darkest pool of eyes she has ever seen and she hasn't missed the intelligence in them either. An impressive jaw line that is begging to be touched and a voice so smooth that it can melt butter. A bit skinny for her tastes but she can easily overlook that.

 _"He almost looks like a prince from a fairy tale"_ she thought with a inward laugh.

With his hair tied back, Severus gets to work on brewing a Hiccoughing Potion, naive to his partner's thoughts about him.

 **( One Hour Later - Cafe )**

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Rachael with a laugh.

After class ended, Severus and Rachael handed up their potion to the professor who gave them full marks for it. He even mentioned that it was one of the best Hiccoughing Potions he has ever seen in hi career as a Potions Master. Afterwards, Rachael literally drags him out to one of the many cafes that are around the school grounds. Apparently, they're waiting for Rachael's friends to show up.

"It wasn't much" shrugged Severus, sipping away at his tea, enjoying the rich taste of it.

"Wasn't much? I've never seen Professor Deegan praise someone so much before" told Rachael in astonishment.

"Well, he did come to tell me about my scholarship so I must have put a good impression on for him" Severus answered with a small smirk.

"That's for sure." Rachael takes another drink of her coffee. "By the way, what scholarship are you here for? I got one for Ancient Runes."

"Potions."

"Makes sense. You were like a lean, mean, potion brewing machine back there" she said while making over dramatic karate moves.

"You weren't so bad yourself" Severus honestly answered. She did do some good work for him during the potion class. A lot more than Lily ever did since all she really did was hand him the ingredients to prepare.

"Aww~, you really do know how to sweet talk a lady" gushed Rachael who changes her white skin into bright pink before it returns in a few seconds.

Before they can continue their conversation, another voice interrupts them. "Rachael!" Both teens turn their heads to the side to see three more people making their way towards them. One of them is actually the same shaved student from the Transfiguration class. The other two are girls with the one calling out having short brown hair with the other having pink highlights in her long strawberry blonde hair as well as tanned skin. Like almost every girl he has seen so far, they are both shapely like Rachael.

"Hey Amy!" yelled back Rachael.

"And who's this? A boyfriend I haven't heard about?" Amy looks at Severus before back at Rachael with a fake look of betrayel. "And here I thought we share everything togethor. Although..." Severus backs his head up when Amy gets her face a tad too close to his own. "He's quite a looker. Can't blame ya for hiding him away" she teased with a grin.

 _"Can't I at least have my personal space"_ Severus wishes to spit out but knows that's the last thing he needs to shout out if he wants to make friends.

"Nope, that's the transfer student I was telling ya about earlier. The same one who transfigured up a dragon" said the mocha-skin student who even Severus admits is quite handsome. Said student walks over to Severus and offers up a hand. "Name's Ezekiel and I hope ya don't take what happened at class personally. Just a bit of banter."

Severus eyes the outstretched hand suspiciously but relents and shakes it. No point being too paranoid to judge. At least for now. "It's alright I guess. I'm Severus Snape by the way"

Ezekial grins widely. "Is that a British accent I hear?"

"And a smooth one at that" said the third girl who surprises Severus by hopping onto his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Hello~ baby, name's Chloe but you can call me whatever you want" she purred with a lusty grin.

"Down girl" warned Rachael. "No need scaring pretty boy away with your antics."

Chloe looks at her friend, looking appalled. "Scaring him? Excuse me for trying to be friendly. Besides, he doesn't find me scary, do you?" she purred while circling her finger onto Severus's chest.

Her answer is herself floating off of Severus's lap and hitting the floor with her rear. Rachael, Ezekial and Amy laugh as Severus grumbles and puts his wand away.

"A miracle, a boy who hasn't fallen to the Spell that is known as Chloe Deidre" laughed Amy as she wipes away a tear in her eye. Chloe gets back up and wipes away the invisible dust on her rear before glaring at Severus who smirks back at her.

"Hey, what about me? I didn't fall for her" asked Ezekiel.

Amy smirks at the mocha-skin boy. "You don't count because you already fell to my own charms" she said before giving him a peck to his lips. "That and I would have hexed your balls off if I caught you doing something with her."

"You truly do have a way with words" Ezekiel said with a warm smile that should not be on the face of a man who's girlfriend threatened his manhood.

The three sit down at the table Severus and Rachael are at and start to chat. "So Severus, join any clubs yet?" asked Ezekiel, wanting to know more about the transfer student.

"Not yet but later, I'll ask to join the Potions and Dueling Clubs" he answered after taking the last drink of his tea.

"Cool. I'm a senior member of the Dueling Club so I can show you around later" said Ezekiel.

"Thanks, I appreciate it" replied Severus with a small smile and grateful nod.

"Any other clubs you gonna be joining? If I were transferring at sixth year, I'd be joining as many clubs as I could just to keep up" said Chloe, sipping away at her orange juice.

"I haven't seen any other clubs yet so I don't know what I'll be joining" answered Severus with a thoughtful frown.

"How about the Wandless Magic Club?" asked Rachael. "I'm a member and our Defence against the Dark Arts professor teaches us how to use Magic without our wands. It's a slow progress but worth it." With a wave of her hand, the napkins on the table suddenly come alive and fly away like birds before they dive headfirst into a rubbish bin.

"Wandless Magic Club? I'm definitely gonna have to check that out" Severus said, feeling intrigue with the prospect of using Magic without the use of a wand. Yes, it's a difficult practice to master, if not understand but it can be very useful if he found himself disarmed during a battle. It could help with his Dueling Club practice as well.

Afterwards, the five continue chatting about other subjects which is where Severus learns that Ezekiel is from Brazil and has a scholarship in Quidditch, Chloe is from New Jersey which explains the tan and has a scholarship in DADA and Amy is from Iceland and has a scholarship in Transfigurations. Rachael is from Ireland which Severus guesses easily enough but she does have a scholarship in Charms.

When they ask Severus about himself, he only tells them about the basics about Hogwarts, life in Britain and where he use to live. No point telling them about the Marauders, Lily or... **that** incident.

After a hour of chatting, they all disperse to their next class.

 **( Four Hours Later - Dueling Club )**

After classes have ended for the day, the students either go off to their rooms to rest or go to the library to study, socialize with their friends at the cafes and restaurants or are taking part in after school clubs. This is why Ezekiel is guiding Severus towards a large building that's near the centre of the school grounds.

"Welcome Severus to the Oliver Gardens Dueling Club" announced Ezekiel before he opens the double doors of the building. When they enter, Severus sees that there only seems to be one room in the entire building which is being used by what must be around fifty or sixty students who are either practicing their Spells with training dummies or with each other.

Ezekiel wraps an arm around Severus's shoulder and guides him through the room while not having any worries about a stray Spell hitting them since the strict rules of the club states that wards must be set up around before they practice. "I already signed you up for the club so don't worry about any papers or whatnot."

"Thanks for that" said Severus with a smile. He hasn't notice it yet but he has been smiling a lot more ever since arriving at the school.

"No problemo. Let's just find some space to practice in."

After five minutes, they find a big enough space to practice in but before they start, Ezekiel puts up some Defence Wards around them so they don't cause any damage to the building or to the people around them. Severus sheds his robes and uses his Magic to tie his hair back before he takes a stance with his wand out in front of himself. Ezekiel soon copies him.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on ya" teased Ezekiel.

Ten seconds pass before any of them move and within six seconds of it starting, the match ends.

"Stupefy!" yelled Ezekiel who points his wand at Severus and fires a red beam from its tip.

Having plenty of practice with the Marauders, Severus hits the Spell away and wordlessly casts a Spell of his own creation at Ezekiel's right leg.

Ezekiel waves his wand for a wordless hex but he buckles to his side when all the feeling in his right leg disappears. Not one to call it quits when he's hit with a hex, he points his wand out at Severus but it ends up flying in the air from Severus's wordless Expelliarmus. Severus Acio's the flying wand to his hand before pointing his wand at Ezekiel who gulps the saliva caught in his throat.

Ezekiel raises his arm. "Okay, you win so can you drop the wand?" he pleaded, not liking having the end of a wand pointed towards his direction while he doesn't have his own. Severus nods and puts down his wand while he walks over to Ezekiel and hands over his own wand. "Thanks. By the way, could you..." Ezekiel eyes his right leg that has yet to have its feeling returned to it.

Severus coughs a bit to clear his throat and with a swift apology, he cast the counter hex. "Reduscio" he chanted as he points his wand at Ezekiel's leg.

Ezekiel sighs happily as the feeling in his leg returns. "Thanks for that" he said before he moves to stand up. Only for him to fall again when a sharp prickling feeling fills his leg.

"You're gonna have pins and needles for a while in that leg of yours" said Severus. "There's nothing I can do about that but it should wear off in a hour."

"Damn. What was the Spell you used anyway? I've never heard of one that can remove all feeling in a leg" asked Ezekiel who's pretty curious about the Spell.

"It's called Numbist and it actually effects wherever the caster the hit. And for who made it, I did" Severus confessed, seeing no problem admitting to that.

"Seriously? You actually created a Spell?" asked Ezekiel with wide eyes. To Severus's nod, he starts to choke out a laugh. "Give me a hand will ya?" he asked while giving out his arm which Severus takes and pulls it over his shoulder before he guides him to a bench. Ezekiel sits on it while he tries his best to keep weight off of his right leg. "You really gotta join the Dueling Team then. With what you just did, we'd win the national for sure."

"Dueling Team? What's that?" asked Severus, who has never heard of such a thing.

"Really? Didn't Hogwarts have a Dueling Team as well?" Ezekiel asked with a raised brow.

"Hogwarts doesn't even have clubs" answered Severus with a shrug. _"Except for the Slug Club but I don't think that counts"_ he thought to himself. After all, the club only takes in the wealthiest, most influential and skilled students in the school. Now he knows why Horace is a Slytherin for good reason. "All they have are Quidditch teams for each house and they only face off against one another."

"I guess it's a good thing you got out of there then" laughed Ezekiel as he pats his right knee.

 _"You've got no idea."_ Severus can already imagine what his sixth year of Hogwarts would be like. Marauders attacking him every day at every turn, professors ignoring the problems and blaming him for their actions, ignored for his skills in Potions. Only this time, he would have gone through it all without Lily.

Not knowing what the transfer student is thinking about, Ezekiel continues. "The Dueling Team is a team of students who have the best skills in dueling. Every school has one, well, I thought every school did. There are six members of a team but only five compete. The sixth is a substitute in case one of the original five is injured. Every match is one on one and the team with the most victories are the winners. Every year, schools all over the world have their teams face off against one another and the team that wins gets the Dueling Cup, a one thousand galleon prize money for each student and ten thousand for the school."

Severus widens his eyes at shock of the amount of galleons they could win. One thousand is quite a hefty sum and the ten thousand for the school could be very nice as well. "Where do I sign?" is all he can ask.

Ezekiel's grin widens.

 **( September 15 1976 - Dueling Club )**

Today is the day that the tryouts for the Dueling Team are taking place. Inside the large clubroom are what looks to be over a hundred students with most of them only there to watch. There would be more but the tryouts for the Quidditch Team is also taking place at the same time to prevent overcrowding. In the centre of the room is a long narrow platform that is being currently being used by a pair of students who are trying out. Beside the platform is a table where the headmaster as well as the DADA professor and the Charm's professor are sitting at so they can judge the duels and score each student.

A minute later, one of the students falls on his back with rope tied around him.

Now, it's Severus's turn. He is sitting outside one of the ends of the platform with Rachael and Amy by his side while Ezekiel is behind him, giving his own support by giving him a shoulder massage. "Remember, be the wand. You must be the wand" Ezekiel kept muttering into his ear before Severus turns around and slaps the back of his head.

"How about you get up there and be the wand yourself?" he snapped, getting Rachael to snort out in amusement.

"Last time I give you any encouragement" muttered Ezekiel while rubbing the back of his head.

"Want me to kiss it all better?" asked Amy with a teasing grin.

"Please?"

"If you two want to suck face, do it somewhere else" Rachael deadpanned to the couple.

"Jealous that I have someone to suck face with and you don't?" asked Amy with a smirk.

"Please" Rachael scoffed while pulling her hand through her hand. "I can get any guy I want to suck face with just so you know."

"Any guy? Really?" asked Amy while she eyes Severus who doesn't notice the exchange. Rachael does and glares at her friend but the dust of pink adorning her cheeks doesn't fool Amy. "Anyway, where's Chloe? I thought that she would be here to show Sev some support?" asked Amy as she looks around the crowd to look for the Jersey girl.

Hearing this, Rachael rolls her eyes. "You think that she's gonna waste the opportunity to check out the sweaty boys at the Quidditch pitch?"

"Guess not" sighed Amy, finding that easy to believe. If there's one thing the girl likes and that's boys.

"Whatever. It's her lost. She's gonna miss out on Sev kicking everyone's arse" she cheered for Severus before patting him hard on the back which causes him to wince.

"Sure" he muttered as he stands up once he hears his name get called. He makes his way to the platform but a hand to his shoulder stops him and pulls him around. "Ye-?"

A kiss warms his cheek as Rachael pulls her lips back and gives him a wide smirk. "For luck" she said before turning away from the stunned Severus to go back to her friends who saw the whole exchange. Ezekiel has a huge grin on his face while Amy actually looks surprised by what she did. "Told you. Any guy I want" said Rachael as she flips her hair that turns a familiar shade of black before returning back to blue.

It isn't until the announcer calls his name for the second time that Severus gets out of his funk and heads up to the platform where his opponent is already waiting for him. Although he does his best to get rid of the red on his cheeks.

The surrounding audience start to talk when he gets onto the platform.

"Who's that guy? I've never seen him before."

"Who cares? He's a cute one."

"Isn't that the transfer student? I heard from a sixth year that he has gotten O's in every exam so far."

"An O in every exam? No way."

"I heard about that as well. He also transfigured up a baby dragon in class once. People are calling him a genius."

Ignoring the gossip around him, Severus pulls out his wand, throws his robe to the side and takes his stance. He straightens his back with his right foot in front of his left and his wand out in his right hand. Having gotten use to doing it, he magically ties his hair back with the same hairband that Rachael gave him since it helps to keep his hair out of his eyes.

Unknown to him, the ponytail enhances his good looks which causes quite a few of the female populace in the building to blush with want while one or two have a bit of drool dripping out of their mouths. Others notice that from his features and battle stance, he looks like a proud noble ready for battle.

His opponent who is a plain boy with short, light brown hair and an average build, tenses up as well and gets into his own stance. From the stance alone, Severus can see around four openings already. Both wait for the headmaster to give the go ahead before any of them can begin.

The headmaster is known as simply William Jenkins and is a bald, elderly man who has a long white beard that is much like Merlin's and Dumbledore's but he doesn't have the extravagant robes, instead preferring to wear a plain blue robe that reaches all the way to his feet. Resting by his side is a short brown staff that he uses to conduct his Magic instead of using a wand. Severus has only met him once in a meeting in the headmaster's office and while he admits that the elder is nice, he can also sense high magical power within him.

The headmaster looks at both contestants and asks if they are ready to begin. When they both nod, he uses wandless Magic to shoot a small firework in the air. Once it explodes, both duelist's get into action.

Severus sets up his shields quickly to block his opponent's first three Spells that bounce off his shield harmlessly before he knocks back the fourth one to its owner who barely sets up a shield of his own in time and staggers from the impact. Severus crouches to his knees and pulls his wand behind himself and then swipes it out as his opponent who recovers and is about to launch a Spell at him. A glowing yellow cord twirls out of the tip of his wand and wraps around his opponent's leg like a rope. With a hard pull of his wand, the student finds himself losing his balance and falling on his back with a thud. Before he can even think about getting up, Severus sends out a Stupefy to finish the job.

Within seconds of winning, the crowds cheer and clap to Severus's victory who releases a breath he doesn't know he's holding. The judges are even clapping to his victory while the headmaster has a knowing glint in his eyes.

Severus steps off the platform and makes his way back to the others who are cheering him along.

"Damn, if I known my kisses were that good, I'd put money on them" exclaimed Rachael before giving Severus another kiss to the cheek, causing the boy to blush.

"What's this? Is the Metamorphmagus falling for the pretty boy's charms?" teased Amy with a grin.

Severus mumbles to himself when she calls him pretty boy which is the declared title he has gotten ever since meeting Rachael. In Hogwarts, that is the last thing he would be called since his nickname over there is usually "Snivellus" or "Greasy Git"

"Who knows? Tall, dark and handsome, what's not to like?" said Rachael with a casual shrug of the shoulders. "And I'm sure he won't mind one bit, now would ya?" Severus doesn't answer but he does turn away to hide the blush on his cheeks which just makes everyone laugh. "Aww~, he's shy." A large grin adorns her face as she grabs Severus's arm and tightens her own around it. "That's good cause I find the shy ones cute." This time, Severus can't turn his face away fast enough to hide his face that is turning a nice shade pink.

Ezekiel decides to intervene before the former Slytherin dies of embarrassment. "Alright, alright, stop with the teasing. He's got to win his next few matches and you teasing the poor lad isn't helping him concentrate."

Rachael hums in thought for a few seconds before she grins in a way that looks like she has hit the jackpot. "Well if he does win, he can expect a very nice _reward_ by yours truly." Severus's whole body stiffens from what she just said as well as how she said it. The way she whispers reward now has him hot and bothered. "How's that for concentration?" she asked while squeezing his arm deep into her breasts. He isn't sure if he's feeling it right but he it almost feels like her breasts are getting bigger.

"What are we gonna do with you?" groaned Ezekiel as he rubs his forehead.

Luckily, Rachael's encouragement helps Severus because through to the mini tournament, Severus wins all his matches. To the public, he shows off his wits, skills and quick-thinking which he uses to destroy the competition. In the end, Severus is the last one standing and an immediate shoe in for the Dueling Team.

"Hahaha! This calls for a celebration!" cheered Ezekiel as he wraps his arm around Severus's shoulder as the group walks out of the club. "I've got Butterbeer at my room. How about it?" To the girls cheers and Severus's reluctant one, they all walk towards the boys dormitory.

"So, what's the reward that Severus won from you?" Amy asked Rachael curiously while she walks beside the Metamorphmagus with her hands behind her back.

Rachael smirks and jogs up to the boys before she pulls Severus out of Ezekiel's arms and into her own. "This lucky guy's reward is to bring me out on a date this weekend, that's what" she said while Severus stares down at her in shock and disbelief.

"Oh, is that all?" asked Amy in fake disappointment but then runs away as Rachael playfully chases after her.

"What the hell do you mean that's all!?" Rachael yelled as Amy laughs while she runs away from the chasing Metamorphmagus.

The two boys just watch on as the two girls run off and when they get out of sight, Ezekiel gives him a pat in the back. "So~, about that Butterbeer?"

 **( September 16 1976 - Boys Dormitory - Severus's Room )**

Severus groans into his pillow as his magical alarm clock blares to life on the nightstand beside his bed. His hand stretches out to said nightstand and scurries across the top of it before finding what he's looking for. With a small flick of his wand, the clock flies across the room and smashes into the wall of his bedroom.

Severus sighs happily as silence reigns in control of the room. Only until the sound of something knocking his window breaks the silence. With sleep clearly not being an option, Severus sits up from his bed and lazily pushes his hair out of his face.

 _"Knew I forgot to do something yesterday"_ thought Severus who forgot to turn off his alarm clock last night due to today being Saturday. Like Hogwarts, no classes are on in the weekend which allows the students to socialize with each other or to do something with their clubs. Severus already decided to spend the day to research a few Spells, brew a little and maybe pay a visit to the Dueling Club to get some practices in.

A blush soon appears on his face as he thinks about his scheduled date with Rachael tomorrow. Not like he got to give his opinion on the matter as Rachael literally ordered him on the date. Unfortunately, he isn't entirely sure what to do on a date. Yes, he's seen couples in Hogwarts hang out in Hogsmeade but he never actually watched them to see what they were doing since he was usually only in the town with Lily or to get potion supplies.

 _"Maybe I should ask Ezekiel later?"_ he thought to himself since he's on friendly terms with the boy.

Getting up and making his way to the window, he sees a horned owl banging its beak against the glass window. "Yea, yea, I'm coming" he grumbled as he scratches the back of his head. He opens the window and unties the letter around its leg. Severus scratched underneath the owl's chin before he hoots and flies away.

 _"Must be one way only"_ he thought while checking the letter. At the corner of the letter, he noticed a familiar symbol on it.

The symbol of the Gringotts Bank.

Page 18 of 18


	3. Prince

**AN: To the guy who sent the review about Severus being a bit perverted, he's a teen. All teens are perverts.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **( 16 September 1976 - Gringotts )**

After getting permission from the headmaster to leave the school premises for a day, Severus used the international floo at Oliver Gardens to return back to Britain. He took a quick visit to the Apothecary to see Reginold before he reluctantly went to Gringotts.

Now, Severus sits nervously in Gringotts Bank's, wishing to be anywhere but here. Merlin, he'll even take going back to Hogwarts than having this meeting. A meeting that he was suppose to be at two weeks ago! And Merlin knows how unforgiving Goblins are when someone misses a meeting, no matter if they be a Muggleborn or the head of a Noble House. The last person to be late for a Gringotts meeting was fed to one of their Dragons! While technically, it isn't his fault since having an owl transport a letter overseas takes a long time for them to deliver because of the vast distance, however, he isn't sure that they'll accept that as an excuse. While Goblins are smart, they are also very ruthless.

At the moment, he's sitting in a large lavish office, waiting for the owner of said office to make an appearance and to most likely rip him a new one. Both figuratively and literally. He almost jumps out of his skin when the door opens and in walks the Goblin who sent the letter in the first place.

"Ease yourself young lad. I'm not gonna bite" remarked the Goblin with a grin when he notices the tension in the sixteen year old's body as he walks behind his desk and takes a seat. "My name is Golden-Buck and before you start thinking that I'm gonna sentence you to death, I understand the circumstances for your late arrival. If I had known about your latest accomondations, I would have just used a floo but that's beside the point" said Golden-Buck who grins savagely, showing off his short but sharp teeth. Severus releases the breath he doesn't know he's holding but when he sees the Goblin's teeth, he can't help but compare them to a shark's that he saw from a shark documentary on telly. "Would you care for some tea and biscuits?" Severus blinks at the Goblin in uncertainty but reluctantly shakes his head. The Goblin nods and folds his large hands together on the table. "Ok then, let's get down to business, shall we?"

Severus nods. "Yes, your letter spoke about my inheritance?" he said, unsure about what inheritance he has. His mother died years ago and there wasn't one mention of inheritance in her will, other than her Potion Kit that she had in the attic and the house that's now under his name since his father won't be needing it anytime soon.

"It did indeed. It has come to my knowledge that you, Mister Severus have become the sole heir of several vaults that I am tending to. It's my duty to provide you with the keys for said vaults and also all the documents revolving around all of the investments that are now under your name."

Severus can only gape at the Goblin in shock. "There must be some sort of mistake. Who would put me as their heir?" he asked, bewildered.

"It's not that the previous owner had placed you in their will. In fact, there was no such will in the first place which is the sole reason that you are now in possession of the vaults" explained Golden-Buck. "The previous heir was Apollo Prince who so happens to be your late grandfather on your mother's side. Due to there being no other close family relations and no will, all his assets are to be given to the next in line which so happens to be you. As of right now, you are Severus Prince-Snape, the Head of the Noble House of Prince."

A bright golden glow catches Severus's eye as he looks down at his source of the glowing which is his hand. When the glowing dies down, he sees a violet ring with the symbol of the Prince family on it. It takes a lot to stop his gaping so he can look somewhat respectable to Golden-Buck who looks very amused with his reaction.

"I take it that this is news to you?"

 _"That's the understatement of the year"_ thought Severus who's still trying to get over the fact that now, he is the head of a Noble Family. Not even Potter is head of his family and won't be until his parents relinquish their titles or die. His mother told him that she was expelled from the Prince family after marrying his father since they didn't like the idea of her marrying a Muggle. He would have thought that he'd been expelled as well due to being Eileen's son. It's then that an amusing thought fills his head.

 _"I'm literally the Half-Blood Prince now"_ he thought in amusement as he remembers the nickname that he came up with during his first year in Hogwarts.

"If you have no other questions, I'll show you to your vaults."

 **( One Hour Later - Diagon Alley )**

Severus can't help himself but smile happily over everything that has happened to him. There's not a lot of moments when he can smile but this is definitely one of them. He just can't believe how fast his life has gone from shitty to brilliant. He has left the abusive environment that is Hogwarts, entered a very prestigious school who only accept the best of the best, he has made several friends, his hair and nose are actually normal-looking and now, he's one of the richest teenagers in the world. He just can't simply believe how much gold and galleons were filling the vaults of the Prince Family.

And it's all his.

With a skip to his step, Severus enters Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occassions store to start off his day of purchases. He'll start with some new clothes that might include Dragonhide boots and gloves, due to them being stylish as well as having Magic absorbing properties that can come in handy when in a duel. Then, he'll get a new trunk to replace his old worn out one. The new one he'll buy will have Expansion Charms to hold several rooms in it with one of them being a private brewing station for him to practice in. Speaking of that, he makes a mental note to purchase a lot of ingredients from Reginold later, even a Unicorn's Horn which he has always wanted to test out in his potions but it has been too expensive for him to buy. To not only treat himself but to pay back the owner for everything he has done for him.

He can only imagine what may have come of his life if Reginold didn't send his draught to Oliver Gardens. No matter, buying out his store will be a nice thank you gift for him.

 **( 17 September 1976 - Hogwarts Library )**

Lily startles herself awake when she loses balance of her chin in her hand and almost hits her face against the table. Opening her eyes and feeling groggy, Lily looks down at the table and sees her Potions textbook sitting there, almost mocking her in a way that she can't understand.

Ever since her failing grade in Potions Class, she has been studying up the subject with the help of Alice and Remus. It isn't until they quizzed each other two days ago that Lily finally understands how much she has fallen back in the class.

 _"What do you mean you don't know? Come on Lily, this is second year stuff" said Alice with a frown._

 _"You know I'm not one to say bad things about people Lily but even I can't ignore all of this. Even Sirius can answer these questions and that's saying something" spoke Remus while looking at Lily with worry._

 _"Why does Potions have to be so hard~"_ moaned Lily in her mind as she rubs the bridge of her nose in hopes to rid of the incoming migraine. She knows that her experience with potions isn't great but she never thought that it's this bad. There's just so much to remember and so many potions to brew. She blushes in embarrassment when she remembers yesterdays Potion Class which ended with Lily somehow bringing her creation to life. It ended with Horace burning the creation with a Fire Spell when it tried to lunge at him.

"Hey Lily" called James as he strolls into the library, ignores the librarian's glare and sits down across his fellow Gryffindor. "Me and the lads are heading to Hogsmeade now. Wanna come?" he asked while giving her his best charming smile. Of course, he has already planned with his fellow Marauders to disappear later so he and Lily can be alone. Now with Snivellus out of the way, he can finally woo Lily without the slimy snake interrupting them.

"Not now James, I've got to study" replied Lily as she looks down at her book and does her best to stay awake so she can get some of the information into her head. She refuses to have what happened yesterday occur again. It's never good to be known in history as the girl who can bring her potions to life. Even worse when she doesn't know she's doing it.

"Come on Lil's~" James moaned, childishly as he pulls the book away from Lily's grasps and holds it out of her reach. "It's the weekend. Stop with the studying and have some fun will ya?"

Lily narrows her eyes at James and with a quick Accio, she pulls the book away from James and back into her hands. "I don't have time to hang out as much anymore. Professor Slughorn is threatening to speak with my parents about my grades and that's the last thing I want right now so how about you just bugger off so I can study" remarked Lily as she tries to go back to her reading but James isn't willing to quit so easily.

"Why do you care? It's only Potions and Horace thinks of you as his favourite student. There's no way he's actually gonna tell your parents so just chill" said James, trying to coerce Lily into going with him. Why can't she see that he just wants to have some fun with her at Hogsmeade? "There's this new bakery down at Hogsmeade that I think y-"

"I said bugger off Potter." James winces, now knowing that he must have gone a step too far. The only times she ever calls him Potter lately is whenever she is tick with him and from the tone in her voice, she isn't feeling too patient with him anymore. There is also the first two years of Hogwarts where she didn't take too kindly to him messing around with Snivellus who was her friend at the time. Now that he thinks of it, he hasn't seen the greasy haired slime ball recently.

Seeing how Lily seems determined about finishing off her studies, James leaves the library, feeling disappointed and heads towards the courtyard where his friends are waiting for him. With Severus on mind, he makes note to find wherever the Mini Death Eater is and show him a prank or two. Maybe he can pants him like he did before but this time, in the Main Hall. That would teach him.

As James walks down the hallway and away from the library, he doesn't notice the pair of eyes glaring at the back of his head before they look over at the library.

Lily sighs in frustration when she hears movement in front of her. "James, I swear to Merlin, I will castrate you if you don't leave right now" she threatened while keeping her eyes on her book. The last thing she needs is a distraction from her studies.

"That's not a nice thing to say about your boyfriend, Mudblood."

Lily raises her face from her book to look into the dark eyes of Regulus Black, Sirius Black's younger brother who doesn't look too happy if his glare is anything to go by.

"What do you want?" asked Lily, not trying to hide her distaste for the Slytherin standing in front of her. Regulus has always been one of those pro Death Eaters from Slytherin and makes sure to show off how much he is one by continuously mocking with Muggleborns. _"Although, who in Slytherin isn't just a mini Death Eater?"_ thought Lily.

Regulus glares at the redhead before he looks down at the book she's reading and scoffs. "Potions? Mulciber did say that your marks are absolute shite now without Snape doing all the work for ya so I guess it makes sense" he said with a smirk.

Lily stands up and glares at the Slytherin who's hand twitches, wanting to pull out his wand to hex the Mudblood in front of him. "Shut ya trap you slimey snake. I can do well enough in Potions without Severus's help" she hissed back with a glare. The last thing she needs right now is having Regulus in front of her and Severus in her thoughts. She isn't dunce enough to not realize that she may have scavenged off of Severus's work when they were partners in Potions and that's the very same reason why her grades are so poor now. She really doesn't need Regulus saying it to her face, even if it's true.

The pride of a Gryffindor is a dangerous thing when insulted by a Slimy Slytherin.

"Not from what Mulciber is telling us. Tell me, how did you bring a Hiccoughing Potion to life? I'm quite curious." Regulus smirks at how Lily's hard glare suddenly shifts to that of an expression of embarrassment. "What's wrong? Can't do much without Snape holding your hand?" he mocked.

"Shut it snake" growled Lily, her anger overpowering her embarrassment over the incident. Oh, how much she would love to just throw a hex at him.

"Whatever. I only came here to talk to your worthless self about Snape."

Lily's anger slightly dwindles down as she narrows her eyes suspiciously at him. "What about him?"

"Where is he?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't make me repeat myself Mudblood" Regulus threatened, losing his patience with the redhead.

"And don't call me a Mudblood you slimey snake" retorted Lily who turns down the volume of her voice when the librarian glares at her and Regulus but the Black just scoffs at the glare.

"Where are you hiding Snape?"

"What makes you think I'm hiding him? If you haven't heard the news, we're not friends anymore" replied Lily with a glare.

"No shit. It's the best news I've heard ever since coming to Hogwarts but what I want to know is where he is. He hasn't shown up to the dormitory yet and nobody knows where he is so that just leaves you."

Lily's anger for both Regulus and Severus come to a halt for a few moments as she hears about Severus missing. Now that she thinks of it, she hasn't seen him in any of her classes but she didn't really care at the time. At home, her mother also kept mentioning how Severus never once made an appearance at his own house since her mother tends to check up on the old house every now and again to see if he's there.

Hiding her worries for her former friend, she glares at Regulus with all the hate she can muster up. "I don't know where Severus is and quite frankly, I don't give a damn at where he is so go ask someone else" she retorted before she sits back down but keeps her eyes at Regulus in case he does something. She's ready to spring into action if he tries to go for his wand.

"You best not be lying to me Mudblood. We Slytherins stick togethor, no matter what, so if we find out that you have something to do with his little disappearing act, you and the rest of your house better watch your backs." With his piece said, Regulus leaves to find more clues on Severus's whereabouts.

Waiting until the Slytherin leaves, Lily sighs in frustration before she looks back at her book to study. Sadly, no matter how much she tries, none of the words are seeping into her mind since it's now filled with frantic thoughts about Severus.

 _"Stop this! He isn't the same Severus from before. He practices the Dark Arts with the rest of his house of snakes so why should I care for what happens to him?"_ she thought to herself but that doesn't do much to quench her worries. With a groan, she lies her face on the pages of her book, knowing that studying right now is next to impossible.

 _"Sev.."_

 **( Oliver Garden - Severus's Room )**

Severus tips the vial in his right hand just barely so a small drop of the green liquid in it will drop into the cauldron. When the drop ripples the liquid in the cauldron, a small poof of blue smoke shoots out of it, causing Severus to cough, even though he already expected such a reaction. Waving the smoke away, he casts a Charm on his ladle to continue stirring the contents of the cauldron.

Having fifteen minutes to himself before the potion is finished, Severus leans back into his chair and closes his eyes. Everything in his life has changed so fast in so little time so it's taking a lot for him to keep up with everything that's happening. Just last year, he was the poor, "Greasy Git" of Slytherin who had no other friends than with Lily and obviously, that wasn't gonna last long with her house making it their mission to keep her away from him.

But thankfully, that's his old self who's just a past memory at this point. No point thinking about the past now that he has a new chance of life.

Now, he's Severus Prince since he refuses to keep the name of his father anymore. He's no longer the "Greasy Git" from before and he now has friends that he can actually talk to without someone trying to split them apart. Being the head of the Noble Prince Family is something that he needs to get use to but it isn't an unwelcomed change. Not with the mountains of gold that he now owns.

Remembering about his meeting with Gold-Buck, he makes a mental note to check the properties that are under the Prince name, especially Prince Manor that's situated in Manchester. Gold-Buck has given him a list off all the properties that he now owns which are all located in several countries across the world. It turns out that the Prince's enjoyed spending their holidays in summer houses in a few tropical areas if the houses in Jamaica, Brazil, Hawaii and Spain are any indication.

 _"I think I should thank Mr. Ottoman again the next time I see him"_ thought Severus with a grin as he opens his eyes to look upon the high shelves around the room that are full of the highest quality Potion Ingrediants available. Everything from a Unicorn's Horn to a Basilisk's tooth line up the shelves that are around the large room. Seeing as one Unicorn Horn costs twenty one galleons alone, it was all a very big purchase that Severus doesn't regret. With the money that could rival the Malfoy's, Severus doesn't see it as much since it hasn't put a dent in his vaults.

During his little shopping spree in Diagon Alley, he had gone back to the Apothecary and purchased almost all of the stock from his mentor. Severus chuckles to himself as he remembers the shocked expression on the old man's face when he asked for the large amount of ingredients. The expression only got funnier when he showed that he could actually pay for it all, thanks to his Bottomless Charm Pouch that he has filled with several handfuls of galleons and a few sapphires and emeralds. He doesn't really need to spend the stones but does have an idea or two on what to use them for.

Severus now has a large supply of ingredients and Reginold is now quite a rich individual. A win/win situation if Severus says so himself.

Thinking of a win/win situation, Severus thinks back a few days ago when he gave the instructions and list of ingredients for his Healing Draught to Alex. The healer happily sent several copies to different hospitals and Potion Masters across the country and from what she explained to him this morning, it's getting very popular among the healing community. While he is happy that his potion is being used to help the injured and sick, what really has him excited is how Alex mentioned that his draught has caught the eye of several Potion Masters. While there's nothing else but news, the thought of being apprenticed by one could really be an exciting and worthwhile experience.

Around the room, there are several other tables with twelve cauldrons that contains several potions that he has changed the recipes for, while four other cauldrons contain his new experiments, one of them being his hopeful Limb Regeneration Potion. At the moment, he's either letting them cool off or has a ladle charmed to stir them continuously.

While Severus is still technically in his room in the school's dormitory, he's actually in his recently purchased trunk that has everything he has wanted for himself. It has five large rooms with there being a bedroom, a Duel Training room with several training dummies to practice with, a Potion's Lab which he's currently occupying, a Preservation room for all of the ingrediants that need to be preserved and being the scholar that he is, a library that has quite a few books of different subjects lining the shelves after his shopping spree.

Eying the item that has his mind troubled, he picks up his wand that lies beside the black pot and frowns in thought. One of the many books he bought yesterday has all the known information about wands and the wood and cores that are used to make them, which he has already read twice after purchasing it . The reason for his research of wands is because of his suspicions on his progress in Charms and Transfiguration which is by far, terrifying but in a good way.

From reading the book, the only conclusion he can come up with for his sudden skill in Magic is because he is now sincere with himself, much to his disbelief. He isn't sure what it means by that but it does make sense to him since it says that his Black Walnut wand would hinder him if he isn't sincere which is probably the reason for his poor skills in the two subjects previously. Severus isn't sure what he wasn't being sincere about with himself before but he can guess that it has something to do with him leaving Hogwarts or something similar. The timing is just too perfect. Unless, he's just reading too much into this and it could all be just some coincidence.

Checking the clock that's hung on the wall, Severus eyes the time that shows the time, two o'clock. _"Only one more hour to go"_ he thought a bit shakily. The reason for his shaken deposition is because in a hour, he's suppose to meet Rachael at the floos so they can go on their date.

Date, an odd word in Severus's opinion since he has never been on one before. Of course, he has gone to Hogsmeade with Lily many times before but he doesn't count them as dates and he's pretty sure that Lily didn't think so either. It's because of his uncertainty with his date that he has been restless all through the night and for once, it isn't because of his nightmares about werewolves.

The potion he's brewing right now is a Calming Draught of his own design which is meant to keep him calm for his date and hopefully, not to make an arse out of himself in front of Rachael. She is pretty fun to hang around with and is actually smart so he can talk to her about the more difficult aspects about Potions and sometimes, Ancient Runes. Of course, she clearly surpasses his knowledge on the subject by miles. The last thing he needs is to somehow muck up their friendship by being a nervous twit through the entire date.

With another ten minutes left for his potion, Severus heads off to the bathroom so he can start up the water for his shower so it warms up. Now that he knows why his hair has been so greasy, he has made it his mission to make sure that it never goes back into such a state again. After having spent five years being called a "Greasy Git", it tends to get old.

After putting on the shower and letting it rinse to heat up, he returns to his Potions Lab and stops the stirring for the Calming Draught before placing a Stasis Charm over the cauldron. With that done, he heads back to his shower and when there, he strips off his clothes to head into the warm shower.

Only to stop and look at his shirtless from the bathroom mirror. Skin and bones is all he can see from head down. While he has been taking those Nutrition Potions from Alex, they do nothing to hide his lithe form, something which Severus finds embarrassing for someone his age. In his honest opinion, it looks like there's just skin covering his bones without a hint of muscle in sight. Not the most pleasing sight in Severus's opinion.

However, he does have what he believes to be a capable answer to fix up his body from inside his journal but has never really had the nerve to test it out. During his third year in Hogwarts, a thought came to him, _"Why can't someone enchance their body with Magic?"_

With Magic, one can simply turn a table into a live animal, therefore breathing out life from an inanimate object. Another can Charm a butter knife to cut through steel with ease. Others can bring one's life to an end with a simple twirl of their wand. With so much possibilities with Magic, why shouldn't they be able to make their bodies stronger and more durable? One of the many flaws he has learned in England is that Wizards and Witches tend to be lazy because they rely on their Magic too much. Therefore, their bones and muscles get weak. The only exceptions are the Wizards and Witches who play Quidditch since they need to train their bodies to stay fit for the sport and Muggleborns who are use to excercise in their own world without Magic.

At the time, Severus had wanted to be stronger and faster than everyone else so he could hopefully impress Lily because he had seen a few moments when Lily was checking out Potter's athletic body. Now, he just wants to expand his horizon in Magic and hopefully, create something new. He has all mechanics for it set out and everything but never really had the time to test it out, not with the Marauders and Lily taking up most of his time. But now that there's no such distractions... should he try?

 _"At least most of the scars are gone"_ he thought while he traces a finger to the centre of his chest where a nasty scar lays, glaring up at him from the mirror. While it may have slightly shrunk down because of his Healing Draught, the scar stays as a reminder of what he has suffered in Hogwarts. The rest of his scars which he got from the whippings by Tobias during his bad days have disappeared from sight, leaving nothing but smooth pale skin. The scar on his chest is a special case altogether. While the whippings have been painful, all the years of hits with the horse crop is nothing when compared to the claw mark of a Werewolf.

Banishing the thoughts of a certain group of tormentors, he walks into the shower and sighs in bliss to the feeling of the warm water trailing down his thin body. He closes his eyes as he raises his head to face the force of water from the shower head, enjoying the feeling of the water cascading through his face and hair.

After enjoying the water for almost half an hour, he gets dressed and heads out to the floos. From a book he has been reading, it's suppose to be proper when the male gets there first so he leaves with an extra fifteen minutes to spare.

 **xXx**

 _"I knew it was too good to be through"_ thought Severus with a frown as he sits on a bench in the hallway of floos. Ten minutes have pass since three and Rachael hasn't made her appearance. Being the paranoid person that he is, he has already made his own conclusion on why she hasn't shown up and guesses it to be that she just stood him up. Ignoring the onlookers watching him, he stands up to leave and hopefully, regain as much dignity as he can from this experience. Only for him to stop mid step when a familiar voice calls out his name.

"Hey Sevy!" called out Rachael with a bright smile as she skips her way towards him, uncaring to what everyone else may think about her.

Severus's voice gets caught in his throat, not just because Rachael actually showed up but because of her attire that consists of a scarlet belly top that is under a open denim jacket and she finishes off the look with a black pair of high waisted leggings and a pair of black and white Nike runners. Just like one would expect, she got quite a few looks from the nearby male students but she either ignores them or doesn't seem to notice them. Severus can't blame them since he's most likely gawking as well. Hell, he doesn't even care that she called him out by the nickname Lily use to call him.

Rachael hops to a stop in front of Severus and smiles almost giddily. "Sorry I'm late. Chloe and Amy were being persistent with what I wear and they aren't a pair that one can shake off so easily" she laughed as Severus blinks down at her. Being as tall as he is, the Metamorphmagus just barely reaches his chin but he's sure that she can change that easily with her abilities.

Now that she's standing next to him, Rachael takes in what is Severus Snape and can't deny that she likes what she sees. Seeing as they are going to a carnival in a nearby Muggle town, Severus has rid of his robes and now adorns an emerald-coloured, high-collared shirt underneath a black leather jacket. He also has on a pair of dark blue jeans as well as a pair of black and green sneakers. She almost giggles at the sight of Severus's favourite colour. From what she told him, he comes from the Slytherin House in Hogwarts and while he doesn't attend there anymore, he is proud to show off the colours of the Snakes.

"Shall we?" Rachael offers out her arm for Severus to hold. Severus looks at the shoulder and back into Rachael's eyes before a small ghost of a smirk appears on his lips as he takes her arm with his own.

"We shall." With that, they floo away to the carnival to do what normal teenagers would do and that's to have fun. Something that Severus is having a lack of these days.

 **xXx**

"No."

"Please"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Can you say anything else but no?" asked Rachael with a huff before she folds her arms and pouts.

"Yes."

Severus laughs as Rachael pouts and playfully hits his chest because of his very blunt answer. For the last three hours, they have been spending their time in the Muggle festival that is actually turning out to be quite fun, much to Severus's surprise. It isn't like he isn't accustomed to a Muggle's way of life since he has lived the first eleven years of his life as one, but he has never gone to a festival before. What a waste since he now knows how enjoyable they can be and makes sure to organize more plans to go to another one. Maybe Ezekiel, Amy and Chloe will like to go as well.

So far, he has gone on all the rides with Rachael and then some with the only incident being him puking after going on the Waltzer after downing a hot dog ten minutes before. From the amount of laughing his partner did, Rachael found it very funny but too bad for her, he got his revenge in the Horror House when Rachael got scared after a zombie-disguised Muggle popped out of a coffin and got the better of her. Didn't help that he kept using small Spells while in the Horror House to blow her hair and to make it feel like something is crawling up her arms. It didn't take too long for her to figure out what he was doing but they both got a laugh out of it in the end.

Right after she coerced him into buying her candy floss and popcorn. He was surprised with the amount of food she was eating but she chalked it all up as her Metamorphmagus powers needing energy. Severus didn't believe her but the glare she held made him agree, unless he were to face her wrath.

At the moment, Rachael is trying to coerce Severus into taking a picture with her but he refuses to do so. The reasons are because the pictures requires them to dress up in outfits which he refuses to partake in. He still remains in his decision since he would rather die than be caught in a picture while dressed up as a cowboy, doctor or worse, that cliche version of a Wizard. Apparently, every Wizard is suppose to look like Dumbledore for some odd reason. He isn't sure where the Muggles got that idea from but it doesn't matter to him, he isn't putting on the white beard, even if it were to save him from an Avada Kedavra curse.

"Pretty, pretty please?" Rachael tried one more time, hoping to convince him with a pair of puppy eyes.

"You can't change my mind and that's final" said Severus with a shake of his head, involuntarily making his black hair fly around in the air.

Rachael looks at him in silence for a few seconds before a smirk appears on her face. A smirk that Severus doesn't care for. "Oh really? I can't convince you?" Severus eyes the Metamorphmagus warily when he recognizes that smirk. A smirk he remembers way too often for his liking. So far, he has yet to remember one moment where she doesn't have that smirk and doesn't get her way.

Severus opens his mouth to reply but when he blinks, all of a sudden, he's in purple robes that are designed to resemble a princes and has a plastic golden crown on his head while Rachael is smiling at the camera beside him in a light pink, victorian dress that covers all of her legs and feet. Severus blinks, unsure on how he suddenly got into the situation. Ignoring the camera flash, he tries to think back on how Rachael got him into his current predicament.

"You two look so cute togethor" gushed the photographer who takes out the picture and waves it a bit to let it dry and to have the image on it.

"I know" said Rachael with a smirk as she heads back to the changing room to change back into her clothes. She makes sure to pat Severus on the cheek while walking by him before heading back. Severus makes note of thesmug expression on her face as she passes him by.

The photographer hands Severus the picture who reluctantly takes it from her. He looks down at the picture in his hand, only to glare at it when he notices its contents . In the picture, it shows himself looking dumbfounded with Rachael smiling away in the picture. The reason he glares is because in the picture, he can see a faint pink kiss mark of lipstick on the same cheek of his that Rachael patted before she left to get changed. Now he knows how she got him to take part in the photograph.

 _"That bloody witch!"_

 **xXx**

Severus grumbles incoherent words to himself as he walks out of the changing room while Rachael waits outside for him with a smug smirk on her face.

"I couldn't convince you, could I?" she said with a hint of smugness and a sense of victory.

Severus grunts out a reply before he heads towards a small cafe booth that has a few tables and chairs under umbrellas. Rachael follows behind him with a skip in her step. After taking their seats and ordering drinks and a light snack, Severus takes out his notebook and takes out a pencl from his pocket and starts writing in a new page. He has already placed a Never-Ending Page Charm on the book so he can continue writing in the same book. Makes it easy to keep the records.

Having seen the book before but never actually asking about it, Rachael's curiosity gets the better of her. "What are you doing?"

"Writing."

"Sometimes, your bluntness wows me."

"I live to impress."

"But seriously, what are you doing?"

Severu's eyes look into Rachael's pale blue eyes for a second, as if scanning her before returning to the book. "Making the plans for a new Charm that I thought up."

"Ezekiel did say you make a few Spells of your own" hummed Rachael to herself. "What's the Charm going to do?"

"It's gonna ward off any Magic that is used through lip contact" replied Severus in a serious tone. Rachael looks at Severus for a moment before she places her hand in front of her mouth to hold back the giggles.

"You may laugh now but someday, I'm gonna have a defence against you and those "Cursed Lips" of yours" joked Severus with a smirk before he closes his book and places it into his jacket pocket. While she may think he's joking, he is quite serious over the matter but he guesses that she doesn't need to know that.

"Well then, I guess I'm gonna need to figure some other way to "convince" you to my side" said Rachael in a husky tone which causes Severus to tense up. Rachael tilts her head down and her body forward on the table which shows off a considerable amount of cleavage to Severus. From a glance, Severus swore he saw them enlarging, making him glare at the Metamorphmagus for her ungodly teasing. Rachael smirks when she notices that Severus has figured out what she's doing.

Severus quickly looks away from the obvious show of cleavage and looks at Rachael with a deadpan expression. "You are the worst."

"Ain't I?" remarked the Metamorphmagus with a sly grin as she sits back down just in time when their drinks are brought to them. "So is that your book of ideas?"

"You could say that, yea" said Severus before he takes a sip of his drink. "I've gotten the mechanics down for several ideas, I just don't have the right form of Magic for them."

Rachael finds herself curious over his ideas. "Any ideas worth mentioning?"

"Flying."

"Really?" she deadpanned. "I think you're a little slow in the uptake. I'm not sure if you've noticed but there are things called brooms~" she said in a way a parent would to a child who doesn't understand the subject.

Severus feels his brow twitch because of the tone Rachael is using. "I was gonna say flying without a broom but "someone" didn't let me finish speaking."

Rachael blinks before she shows the decency to blush in embarrassment. She mutters a quick and silent apology before she continues with her interrogation. "So flying without a broom. Is that even possible?"

"In theory, yes" replied Severus as he finishes a chip from the plate of chips he ordered. "I just can't seem to get the Magic to focus itself before I end up falling back on my arse. It's just too wild to concentrate" he explained with a frustrated frown.

Rachael closes he eyes and hums in thought about Severus's theory. Severus just looks and waits for her to come out of her stupor. By the time he's reaching for his last chip, she suddenly opens her eyes and slams her two palms on the table, causing the plate to hop and the last chip to jump off the table and onto the ground. "How about Ancient Runes? They can pretty much do anything if you put your mind on it and they are used to make flying brooms in the first place.

Severus opens his mouth to reply, only to stop himself before he can speak the first syllable. " _Could Ancient Runes work? Maybe if I add in the formula for Magical Stabilizers and maybe even Control Runes for movement. How do I add Ancient Runes to the body though?"_ Before he can try to think of a method, the fluttering of a nearby woman's coat catches his eyes before they widen in sudden realization. Already, a plan is in motion in his mind, beggin to come to life.

"Rachael, you're a genius!"

"Tell me something I don't know."

 **( 21 September 1976 - Spinner's End )**

Harry Evans isn't someone who cares for having a good body but he does appreciate having a healthy one. That's why he tends to have a run up and down Spinner's End every morning, so he can rid of any calories he may have gotten from the day before. He breathes heavily after he stops by the path in front of his house when he finishes his jog. After taking enough fresh air to even out his breathing, he walks up to the door while he wipes the sweat off his forehead, thinking on having a nice shower before heads to work. Harry reaches out to the doorknob but he stops himself from opening it when a truck at the end of the road catches his eye. Moreover the title of a local moving company on the side of the truck.

And it's beside the former house of Eileen and Tobias Snape.

Finding a sudden burst of energy, Harry runs to the end of the street where the house is situated. He can see thenmovers walking in and out of the house with hands full of furniture and boxes and are placing them inside the back of the moving truck. Harry heads over to the closest worker who is writing on a clipboard and asks him a question. "What's going on? Why are you moving all the Snapes stuff?"

The worker turns towards him with a raised eyebrow. "Just doing my job. Owner is selling the place so we're just here to move the furniture into storage before the retailer comes by."

"Who's the owner?" asked Harry, curiously. It can't be Tobias since he has lost ownership of the house after getting a life sentence in prison. Maybe a close relative? Could explain where Severus is if he's staying with them.

The mover lifts a page from the clipboard while mumbling to himself. "Owner is one, Severus Prince."

 _"That can't possibly be a coincidence"_ thought Harry since the odds of someone else having a name like Severus is unlikely. Although, the last name, Prince is something new to him but he swears, he has heard of it before.

"Do you have a phone number Severus that I can use?" he asked, hopefully. Maybe he can call Severus and ask where he is. After all, the boy is almost a son to him with how much time he spent at his house with Lily. He has always hated the fact that Severus was Tobias's son. With how kind Severus is, it's hard for him to believe. To be honest with himself, he wouldn't be surprised if Eileen decided to have someone on the side since Tobias wasn't exactly the perfect man.

The worker shakes his head as a negative. "Sorry sir but I'm not entitled to do that. Regulations and all that" shrugged the worker before he walks into the house to help out with the rest of the furniture. Harry curses silently but with nothing else, he walks back to his house. He just hopes for some news of the boy from Lily. They may be having some sort of spat with each other but they've been friends for years so surely they can overcome it. All friends have arguments with each other from time to time but they all end with them getting back together all the time. It was Severus who explained to them that Lily was a Witch in the first place and they've been togethor ever since then. Harry clearly sees that's a friendship that's hard to break between them so he has full confidence that they'll get over that whole, Mudblood incident.

Besides, they go to the same school so Lily must be able get some information from him there. With hopeful thoughts that Severus is doing alright for himself, Harry walks into his house for an overdue shower.

 **( Oliver Gardens - Boys Dormitory - Severus's Room )**

Inside Severus's Charmed Trunk, he and Rachael are currently finishing up the last bit of work in their project for broomless flight. It was Severus's project at first but seeing that Rachael has more experience and knowledge with Ancient Runes, he decided to enlist her help, something in which she happily agreed on. They've decided that while it is difficult, if not possible to fly without a broom, they could hopefully use something else as a focus for flight, similar to using brooms.

Their option being Severus's black robe which they are currently etching several formulas within the inner layer of the clothing. It isn't an easy progress but in the end, it should work. Hopefully.

For the first two days, Severus and Rachael have been studying up on Runes and formulas in which they could use and ended up deciding to use similar Ancient Runes to that of a broom's, with several changes to the formulas of course.

"Are you done with your side?" asked Severus after finishing up the last formula. A very taxing method but hopefully, it will work and that their hard work will pay off.

"About done. Just give me a sec" said Rachael before finishing her work in a moment. "There, all done. Just put it on so we can test this baby!" she exclaimed, giddy over the thought of making a new form of flight.

Severus nods but turns and looks around the training room within his trunk. The room is big and has more space since he has put away the training dummies but seeing as they are doing something that is unheard of in the Wizarding World, he decides to make sure there are safety precautions. With several flicks of his wand, he places Cushioning Charms on the floor, walls and ceiling, just in case he might get out of control and hit into something. He would like to live for a few centuries, thank you very much.

Taking a deep breath, Severus places on the robe and ignores the warm tingling sensation from the newly formed runes in the inside of the robe. Concentrating his Magic into his robe, Severus waits for a reaction and isn't disappointed when he gets it. A sense of accomplishment fills Severus when he feels his feet leave the floor and is looking down at a grinning Rachael a few feet higher into the air.

"Haha! It works! It actually works!" yelled a hopping Rachael in joy as she watches Severus sail through the air without a broom between his legs. Severus can't help himself but let out a cry of enjoyment as he crookedly turns before he could hit a wall. While he doesn't have the best control over the flight, it's to be expected since he is the very first person to actually fly without a broom so he's gonna need to make the instructions. He's gonna need to buy a few Self-Writing Quills for that task but at the moment, he's just gonna enjoy himself.

After five minutes of enjoying the feeling of weighing the same as a feather, Severus stops himself in mid-flight and cancels his Magic to let himself down. He didn't think about the fact that he's still a few feet in the air until he lands on his back onto the floor. Luckily, the Cushioning Charms are still in effect so it just felt like he fell on a pile of soft pillows.

 _"Maybe I should lessen the Magic instead of cancelling it all at once"_ thought Severus with a groan as he pushes himself up. Only for him to fall back on his back when a blue-haired missile collides with him and pulls him into a tight hug.

"We did it! We just made history in the making!' cheered Rachael in joy. Severus smiles as well, enjoying the fact that yes, they have just created history. The joy he'll feel when everyone finds out that it was a pair of teenagers who changed the way to fly. Of course, he isn't gonna release the information yet, not when Voldemort and his Death Eaters could use the information to cause more deaths and destruction across Britain. Severus isn't naive enough to believe that his work won't be led into Voldemorts hands and he has already explained the situation with Rachael before they started. While she wasn't actually pleased about withholding the information, she thankfully understood that lives could be lost so she reluctantly agreed.

However, before he can ask the Metamorphmagus to get off of him, he suddenly feels a pair of soft, warm lips touch his own, causing him to widen his eyes to far that they reach up to his long black pool of hair. It takes a few seconds for his genius mind to contemplate that Rachael, his first friend in Oliver Gardens is kissing him. Not like he's complaining but the shock is still there for having his first kiss with her. That shock is soon gone when he finds his arms wrapped around Rachael's waist as he brings her into a tight embrace which she responds by tightening her own hold around his neck.

If Severus were to open his eyes, he would have seen Rachael's blue hair change into a cherry red before returning back to blue.

The pair soon find themselves in need for oxygen and separate, although a sliver of saliva connected to their lips marks as a reminder of what they just did.

"So.." gasped a red faced Rachael with a saucy smirk. "Anymore fun ideas brewing in that sexy head of yours?"

Severus smirks up at the Metamorpmagus before finding the confidence to start up their previous activity by pushing his lips back against her own. The feeling is so foreign to him but the first surprised kiss just gave him the courage and want for more and from the way Rachael tightens herself against him, he guesses that she doesn't mind one bit. There they stayed, enjoying the feeling of their lips and tongues stroking against the other's own.

They separate one more time but both barely gets five seconds to breath before going for another round with each other.

 **xXx**

Severus and Rachael climbs out of the trunk after they separated from their fourth 'session' and Rachael got a go on the flying cloak. An experience she enjoyed very much since she was like a child in a candy store.

Severus understands that it's getting late and it would be best that Rachael leaves for the girls dormitory. If there's one rule that is taken very seriously in Oliver Gardens, it's that students of different genders shall not sleep in the same room. Severus can understand that since hormonal teens tend to make very bad mistakes if left alone with each other for long enough. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact that he's smarter and maturer than most people his age, he would probably be hoping to do something more with Rachael in the trunk.

Hogwarts has the same rule, not like it does a thing since there are plenty of empty rooms in the castle in which students can do 'whatever' they want. While Severus understands the reason for the rules, he isn't too happy with it.

Rachael opens the door and exits the room but then stops and turns around. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Severus notices the slight worry in Rachael's tone but also the hidden meaning in her question. It's her first attempt for a relationship and she isn't sure if the make out sessions were a good way of asking "Do you wanna be boyfriend and girlfriend?" They were good signs but not official. While she does find flirting fun, she has never been one to actually try and be in a relationship with someone. She guesses that it's because she never found anyone that actually interested her until now.

Then came Severus. Tall, dark, smart, kind and handsome but with the right amount of awkwardness. A perfect match if she has ever seen one. There's also the fact that he doesn't mind about her morphing abilities which are sometimes a hassle to control.

She feels a bit awkward but thankfully, it seems like Severus is the same type of awkward as her, if the blush and startled expression is a sign. But the way Severus then smiles and nods his head shows that he does understand the hidden question and agrees. The nervous smile plastered on Rachael's face replaces with a happy expression before she gives Severus a quick peck on the lips before happily gliding down the halls.

Severus watches her leave, not even trying to stop himself from turning away from the sight of Rachael's swinging hips. The moment is ruined when he hears a cough to his left and turns to see Ezekiel standing by an open door with his arms folded and a very wide grin in his face. By the open door, two heads who Severus recognizes are from two other members of the Dueling Team, are poking out with wide grins of their own.

"The Prince and the Metamorphmagus. Sounds like a fairy tale to me" commented Takashi who has spikey green hair and is of Japanese decent. Having changed his name, everyone mostly refers to Severus as the Prince now, due to his new name, as well as his royal appearance. The female students didn't have a problem with that.

"Doesn't it. We'll have to call in everyone to see who will collect their winnings" said Michael, a blonde-haired pretty boy who comes from Germany. "How much was in the pot again?"

"One hundred and eleven galleons, fourteen sickles and twenty two knuts" answered Ezekiel with a low chuckle. "Amy and Chloe are gonna love to hear this" he said, Ezekiel's grin widening even more than Severus thought possible.

"Bugger off" remarked Severus with a roll of his eyes before closing the door of his room behind him, ignoring the laughs from the three boys. Maybe he should just bring his trunk to Rachael's room to avoid Ezekiel and practice his projects with Rachael without the need for someone possibly spying on them. That thought immediately leaves his head and not just because boys aren't allowed in the girls dormitory. _"I guess I can survive with the lesser of two evils."_

Said two evils are known as Amy and Chloe. While Ezekiel may act like a playful tease from time to time, those two aren't known to be playing around. They are both known across the school as the biggest gossips of Oliver Garden. If there's something in the school that's juicy, they'll be first to find out about it and will most likely be the first ones to spread it around worse than a plague.

He can be certain that by morning, the entire school will know about his relationship with Rachael.

Having lost any chance of containing the situation, Severus heads into his bathroom to wash up and get ready to bed. After placing his clothing into the wash basket that rests beside the sink, he brushes his teeth and hears a quick pop of a House Elf. He spits into the sink and wipes his mouth with a clean white towel before leaving it beside the sink. As he catches the sight of his skinny torso on the mirror, he frowns but shakes his head to get rid of those thoughts. He'll think about it later when he has free time after classes tomorrow. He walks by the now empty basket and gets into the Queen-size bed and drifts off to sleep.

During his sleep that night, he slept without a single nightmare about Werewolves. He just slept in his bed, comfortable with his new life.

Page 16 of 16


	4. Halloween

**Enjoy.**

 **xXx**

 **( 26 October 1976 - Oliver Gardens )**

A month has passed since Severus and Rachael have gotten together and so far, it has been going very well for the pair. They mostly go out on dates every weekend, a foreign feeling that Severus has slowly gotten use to. They spend most of their free time with each other, when they aren't concentrating on their school club activities. Severus has also begun to request assistance from Rachael on several of his experiments. Having an almost equal intelligent mind as him, Rachael agreed wholeheartedly.

The only downside is Amy's and Chloe's unrelenting teasing of the newfound couple. As Severus had expected, by the time he woke up in the morning, the entire school has somehow found out about the relationship between him and Rachael. Unknown to the pair, many hearts were broken from both genders when news of their relationship spread across the school like wildfire. Not many were too happy to hear that the Prince and Sexy Metamorphmagus were off the market.

Also, it turns out that the winner of the pot turned out to be Chloe who had a fun day of shopping and gloating the next day.

Now, Severus is currently dueling a representative of Mcguire's School of Magic and from the audience's point of view, they can tell that he is clearly winning. The match is taking place in Oliver Gardens so a lot of the student population are in the recently Conjured stands and cheering on for their school's team. A small group from Mcguire's is also there to cheer on their team but a few have stopped as they've noticed the clear one sided duel.

"Immobulus!"

Severus forms a wandless shield to block the Spell while already in motion for a counter. His opponent ducks underneath the Spell and shoots out a hex towards Severus's feet but the Potion Prodigy forms a shield to deflect it back at his opponent who just barely counters. It doesn't give him enough time to deflect the Spell aimed towards his chest and soon, he finds himself flying backwards on the narrow dueling platform. The representative groans in pain but his groans are washed over by the clapping and cheering from the students of Oliver Gardens.

"Winners with three wins and two defeats, Oliver Gardens who shall represent the United States in the National Dueling Tournament!" exclaimed the announcer which does nothing but increase the volume from the students. If anyone was looking, they would have seen Paul Deegan and several other professors clapping and cheering over Severus's victory. Even the headmaster is there as well with a joyous smile on his face, clapping for his students victory.

Before Severus can hop off the stage and take off his hairband, Ezekiel, Michael, Takashi and the other two members of the Dueling Team, Jeffrey and Lucy all run up on the stage and hoists him over their shoulders and starts throwing him up in the air, much to his chagrin.

Lucy is an American and is the only female member on the Dueling Team. She is shorter than most girls her age and has curly blond hair and blue eyes. Many in Oliver Gardens have learnt to not underestimate her just because of her size since she is known to be the fastest drawer in the team. Most of the time, she ends a duel before it can even start by taking out her opponent with her first Spell before they can even think to counter. If that doesn't work, she tends to sacrifice defence for quick and deadly attacks that few can defend against.

Jeffrey is an African student and is the reserve member for the team. He is as tall as Severus and is muscular, due to him spending a lot of time playing as a Beater for the Quidditch Team. He is also known to duel the complete opposite way to Lucy's method. Instead of sacrificing defence for offence, he sacrifices offence for defence. In his own words, _"My defence is my greatest offence."_

Severus gratefully feels his feet touch the floor when the team eventually lowers him. He walks off the stage and takes off his hairband to only have Rachael jump into his arms and kiss him. Wolf whistles and cheering can be heard in every direction but Severus couldn't really care at the moment. Instead, he's focusing on the amazing feeling to his lips and presses harder to get even more pleasure from the experience.

"Get a room!" laughed Ezekiel before he finds himself in the same situation with Amy. Being a hormonal teen, he isn't complaining much as he copies Severus and kisses his girlfriend even more deeply.

By the end of his make-out session, Severus has forgotten that he has just won the match that has made his school the official representatives for America in the National Dueling Tournament.

 **( 27 October 1976 - Boys Dormitory - Severus's Room )**

Upon sunlight hitting his face through the crack in his curtains, Severus groans into consciousness and rolls his body to the side to avoid the irritating light. Almost immediately, he regrets moving because a throbbing headache fills his skull with pain. _"Next time I see Michael, I'm gonna kill him"_ thought Severus before he winces.

After they won the duel which would declare their school as the representative for USA in the world tournament, a large celebration took place at the boys dormitory. None of the younger years could participate as they all have a curfue but every student in sixth and seventh year could stay up till twelve.

Unfortunately, Michael got the great idea to provide alcohol among the student populace. Severus is positive that he didn't take any but he guesses that Michael somehow spiked his Coca Cola, something in which Severus doesn't appreciate. The last thing he wants is to drink alcohol and become something similar to Tobias Snape. He'll need to have a very long talk with Michael the next time he sees him. He has gone too soft lately and thinks that he should bring back the witty and sarcastic side of him, even just for a moment.

With all the energy he could muster up, which isn't a lot, he pushes himself up from his bed and looks around his room and is thankful to see that the party hadn't entered anywhere in his room, seeing as everything is still neat and tidy as usual. He isn't sure that the same could be said for the rest of the dormitory.

Swinging his legs over to the edge of his bed, Severus opens the drawer to his nightstand and takes out a smooth black box. He places it on top of the nightstand and taps the top of it three times with his wand. The box opens up from the top before the sides open to reveal thirty small vials with liquids in all sorts of colours. He calls it the "Black Box" and is something he keeps on himself on all times as it contains all the necessary potions and draughts that he might need for any situation. While some may call it being pranoid, he likes to think that it's better to be safe than sorry. After all, his home country is currently going through a civil war, no matter what the Prophet ways.

Severus eyes the potions before taking the Hangover Soother Potion, pulls off the cap and downs its contents with one gulp. He ignores the disgusting tangy taste and sighs in satisfaction as he feels his throbbing headache fade away, allowing him to collect his thoughts. After locking his Emergency Potions back into the Black Box, he places it back into the drawer before heading into the bathroom for a shower. He takes his time since he has no classes today because of the headmaster cancelling them so everyone can celebrate the team's victory. Severus believes that the headmaster knew what was going to transpire at the boys dormitory so gave the students a day off to clear up their headaches.

After getting dressed into a pair of light blue jeans and a simple black and white stripe shirt, Severus opens the door to his dormitory, only to see the mess that was yesterdays celebration. The female students have obviously left after twelve o'clock but the male students continued with the celebration while he guesses that some of the female students have done the same as well in their own dormitory as a few were quite tipsy if his memories aren't betraying him. Across the hallway on the fourth floor of the dormitory, there are around a dozen students lying on the floor, either snoring away in blissful sleep or groaning in pain because of their hangovers. Littering the floor are cans of Muggle alcohol that range from Rolling Rock to Lite. There's also a few bottles of Firewhiskey littering the floor. Someone must have also gotten sick because there's a pile of greenish grey goop beside the door of another student's room down the hall.

All in all, they do not give off the appearance as some of the brightest young minds in the world.

Severus lightly smirks when he sees Michael and Ezekiel leaning against each other and groaning in pain. Doesn't help the fact that Ezekiel is shirtless for some reason that Severus doesn't care to find out. It's a fitting image if he has ever seen one before. With a shake of his head, he walks back into his room and heads towards his trunk so he can brew a large quantity of Headache Soother Potions for his fellow suffering students. He's thankful for the many cauldrons he purchased or he wouldn't even bother to try and brew that much since he has a feeling that everyone in the building will be needing one.

Of course, Michael will be the last to get one.

 **xXx**

After supplying the sixth and seventh year male populace with potions, Severus heads off to the one of many coffee shops and orders a black coffee for himself. He sits on one of the tables outside of the shop and takes a large gulp of the black liquid that burns through his throat. He never has been fond of the drink but the need for energy surpasses that of his distaste for the beverage.

He lazily looks around and sees many House Elves running around and decorating the buildings with Halloween decorations. While it isn't his first time celebrating Halloween, Severus didn't expect the school to actually celebrate the Muggle version of Halloween. Hogwarts merely placed up a few decorations, got pumpkins to float in the Great Hall and had a large feast with a lot of different sweets and treats. There was no costumes or any form of celebrating the holiday but he guesses that it's because most of the student population in Hogwarts are Purebloods.

Just three days ago, Chloe, Rachael and Amy were going on and on about what they should dress up as for the holiday. Not like Ezekiel wasn't either but he complains that he wants to have a costume that matches up with Amy's. Severus isn't sure if he'll dress up himself for the Halloween party that is taking place on the night of the 31st, but he can guess that Rachael will try to convince him, just like how she did on their first date.

 _"Speak of the devil and she shall come"_ he thought with a smirk when he notices Rachael, Amy and Chloe making their way over to him.

"Hey Sevy, how's the head?" asked Rachael while she takes a seat across from him. Chloe and Amy take their own seats by her left and right.

Severus eyes the trio and is somewhat curious on how they aren't showing effects of a hangover. From what little he could remember, they weren't being shy over the Firewhiskey."My head's fine. Nothing a quick Headache Soother couldn't fix. Although, I would have preferred to not have made a batch for everyone else" sighed Severus. "So how come you three aren't suffering?"

"I've got the Irish blood in me! We can take the very best of drinks and live to tell the tale" exclaimed Rachael while flexes what little muscles she has as a show, much to Severus's amusement. She then points over to her friends, "But I had to make these two wannabees their own Headache Soother Potions. Pansies, I'll tell ya."

"Yea, yea and we're greatful for it" waved off Chloe as she takes a sip of her glass of Pumpkin Juice. She really is grateful or she would be bitching to everyone about her pain and suffering.

"How did you get so pissed anyway? I didn't see you with a bottle in your hand all night" asked Amy while she raises a brow towards Severus. With what she remembers from last night, Severus didn't act like his usual, strict and mature self. Actually, it was pretty much the opposite.

"You can thank Michael for that. I'm guessing that he spiked **every** drink at the party. The little basterd" grumbled Severus. He'll need to do something _special_ for him when the time comes.

"With the crap you did last night, it wasn't exactly a bad thing either" said Chloe with a playful smirk.

Severus narrows his eyes at the flirt while he wonders what she means by that. But he does notice the blush on Rachael's cheek and so it doesn't take a genius to realize that he might have done something inappropriate with her last night. "What did I do last night?" he asked, slightly fearful if he did something bad. Being the son of Tobias Snape, he's afraid that he might have gotten the man's drunken habits, not something he would want.

"The question you should ask yourself is what didn't you do last night" laughed Chloe, until a smack to the back of her head, courtesy of a blushing Rachael stops her.

"The sum it all up, you and Rachael were pretty much glued to each other by the lips" told Amy, smirking at the blush on the usually controlled Prince. "Hands were touching everywhere and I mean **everywhere~** "

Severus rubs the space between his eyes, feeling another headache somehow getting pass the effects of his potion."I'm seriously gonna kill Michael" he muttered but the girls hear him and giggles.

Amy waves him off. "Don't be like that. Rachael was sober through the whole thing so she had no problem with it." Amy laughs hard as she dodges the hand from Rachael that would have hit the back of her head if she didn't move.

"Yo! What are we all getting pissy over?" asked Ezekiel who arrives and takes a seat beside Amy and gives her a peck on the cheek, a usual custom that the pair has taken when they meet each other.

Before Chloe can open her mouth, Severus decides to sway the source of the consversation onto someone else. "What's this? You actually put a shirt on? And here I thought you'd be sleeping with your one for the rest of the day."

Within a second, Amy's happy atmosphere changes as her eyes narrow dangerously at Ezekiel who stares at Severus's quizzically, having not yet to notice what Severus has just done to him. He quickly understands when he feels a sharp pinch to his arm, courtesy of his girlfriend. "Who's this **one** that Severus is talking about!" They can almost taste the bloodthirst coming from Amy.

Ezekiel widens his eyes and opens his mouth to speak for his defence but Severus interrupts him by suddenly clapping his hands and standing up. "Look at the time, I should head off to the Potion Club. I hear that we're making Polyjuice Potion today." With that said, Severus walks over and kisses Rachael before he walks off.

Rachael senses the tension in the air and decides to follow her boyfriend's lead. "We should head off too. I still need to pick out what I want to wear for the Halloween party." Rachael grabs Chloe and drags her away from the table, leaving a pissed off Amy and Ezekiel who's glaring at the backs of his traitorous friends.

"Traitors!"

 **xXx**

Sounds of Spells hitting Wards and flashes of colours fills the Training Room of Severus's trunk as the owner and his girlfriend cast Spell after Spell at one another, only for them to knock them away and continue the assault on each other.

None spoke a word as they cast silent Spells. While Rachael is waving her wand around with wide waves, Severus proves his skills in dueling by simply aiming his wand and flicking it slightly to fire off a Spell. Within a second, he fires three Spells that give Rachael problems. The duel ends when Severus ties her feet with a set of Conjured rope before using a wordless Expelliarmus to disarm her of her wand.

"Not bad, you're obviously approving" complimented the Prince as he bends down to pick up Rachael's wand. He banishes the ropes with a flick of his wand.

"Maybe it's because I have a good teacher" stated Rachael with a grin as she stands up with the help of her boyfriend and takes back her wand and places it on her hip Wand holster while Severus places his own into his wrist holster that is hidden underneath the sleeve of his shirt.

After spending two hours showing the first years a few brewing tricks, Severus had left the Potions Club to hopefully study up for his Limb Regeneration Potion. On the way to the dormitory, he met up with Rachael who dumped Chloe who went on what Amy calls, 'Man Hunting'. After walking around the large school, he and Rachael went back to his trunk to practice their dueling skills. Their training sessions started off two weeks ago when Rachael mentioned how her Defence Against the Dark Arts is her weakest subject and being the sympathetic boyfriend that he is, Severus offered to practice with her.

"That too" smirked Severus before giving Rachael a quick kiss.

"So what are you gonna dress up as for the Halloween party?" she asked.

Severus furrows his brows in thought. "Do I have to go?" In Hogwarts, he went to the Halloween Feasts and Yule Ball every year but they've been mostly ruined by the Marauders who he thinks have a bit too much of a thing for him. Since then, he has never honestly enjoyed going to special events.

"Severus Prince, it's your first Halloween Party in Oliver Gardens and I don't care if I have to drag you there screaming, you're going." Severus couldn't help but shut his mouth from hearing the finality in her tone. He can almost see Ezekiel whipping his wrist out while smirking at him.

"Fine" he muttered. _"Who knows, it might be somewhat fun without the Marauders."_

Rachael nods her head, victoriously. "Good. So, what are we gonna dress you up as?" she asked herself while humming and placing her finger under her chin in thought. Her eyes scan Severus while her hair starts to change colours and lenghts like a frenzy, something that happens whenever she is thinking hard. Severus finds it cute.

A bit of pink covers his cheeks when Rachael's eyes linger on his crotch for a few seconds longer than they should. "Eyes are up here" he said, pointing to his eyes but he knows that it's just all in good fun.

"They are, aren't they." One of the many things Severus likes about Rachael is her playful flirting that never seems to get old. Sometimes, she can be a proper tease but she does a good job to make him laugh, no matter the situation. That's why he leaves his trunk, laughing alongside his girlfriend.

 **( Hogwarts - Gryffindor Boys Dormitory )**

"What do you mean that you can't find him?"

"It's as I said Prongs, Snivellus isn't showing up on the map" replied Sirius as he practically shoves the map into James's face. Peter and Remus are also in the room and sitting on the beds alongside the arguing Sirius Black and James Potter.

James takes the Marauders Map out from his face and glares at Sirius before looking down at the map. He scans the map, looking for the name of Severus but no matter where he looks, it isn't showing the name for the Mini Death Eater. His eyes does linger on Lily's name which is in the library but gets the thought of visiting her out of his head. After his third attempt of trying to coax her out of the library last week, she has gotten quite volatile with him lately so he thinks that he should give her some space to cool down. "Why do you think Snivellus isn't showing up on the map? Think he used a Spell to hide himself?"

Sirius shrugs his shoulders. "It's possible. He might have used some sort of Dark Spell but that doesn't explain why he isn't at class. He doesn't even show up for Potions anymore and we all know how much of a hard on he has for that."

Remus just ignores the conversation all together, having found more interest in the History Book in his hands.

"Maybe he left the school to join up with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" offered Peter.

"Wormtail is probably right. I wouldn't pass the thought of Snivellus not leaving school early to kiss the bottom of his Dark Lord's robes" scowled James.

"What do we do about it?" Peter asked.

James looks at the rest of the Marauders with a stern and serious expression. "What else? Prepare for the time that he shows up with his Dark Lord and take care of them."

 **( 31 October 1976 - Oliver Gardens )**

Severus grumbles to himself as he waits outside of the girls dormitory for Rachael who is taking her sweet time on getting ready. He has already placed Warming Charms on his costume to keep out the cold night air from biting him but he can feel the Charms wearing off.

He pulls on the red collar of his cloak, already hating it by the colour alone. With all the crap he got from the Gryffindors through his five years in Hogwarts, he has grown to despise the colour which just reminds him of the House of his former tormentors. Unfortunately, he has charmed the clothing red since it suits his costume better which consists of what looks to be blue robes and pants with too much frills for his liking. He has a surprise for Rachael as he has add a few special features to his cloak which just so happens to be his latest experiment. However, the fact that he has to wear fake plastic teeth that resembles that of a Vampire's is annoying him and he hasn't even gotten to the party yet.

He isn't the only one waiting as there are quite a few male students of all years dressed up in different costumes and waiting for their own dates. Beside him is Ezekiel who decided on dressing up as some sort of scarecrow.

"You're costume doesn't look too... comfortable" said Severus, making small talk while they're waiting for there dates.

Ezekiel winces beside him. "It really isn't. The straw itches like a bitch and I can feel some in places I didn't know I had." Severus smirks as Ezekiel scratches his arm to ease the latest itch from a random straw poking against his skin.

"Do tell, why are you wearing that if the itching is killing you?" Before Ezekiel can answer his question, several girls exit the double doors of the dormitory, three of them being Rachael, Chloe and Amy.

Severus first notices Amy's outfit and quickly understands why Ezekiel is wearing such an uncomfortable outfit. While Amy has a good sense of fashion for clothes, she doesn't seem to have the same concept for Halloween costumes as she is dressed up in what would be classed as a gaudy female version of a scarecrow, just that instead of the light brown pants of straw, she is wearing a long, wide striped skirt that reaches just halfway over her legs.

Severus isn't too surprised to see that Chloe has what would be the most revealing outfit among the trio. She's dressed as a female version of Satan which is mostly just her wearing a black bikini top that strains against her breasts and black short-shorts which has a red fork tail over her arse which has been Charmed to move on its own. To finish her costume off, she has Charmed her entire body a blood red colour which only seems to add a sense of exotic lure to herself. Already, he can see several of the male students staring at her, even the ones who have dates around their arms. Said dates don't look too happy with Chloe's choice of costume and their boyfriends who aren't even trying to hide their stares.

Severus's eyes then set on his girlfriend's outfit and he can honestly admit that he likes her costume much better than the others. She is wearing a stereotypical purple, Witch's dress that has a short skirt and hugs her figure in all the right places. On her head is a purple pointy Witch's hat that reminds him a lot of Mcgonagall's but Rachael's matches with the same colour as her dress. She's also wearing purple slippers along with a pair of purple socks that reach halfway up her smooth legs. All in all, she likes the colour purple. Severus on the other hand likes the dress that clings to her like a second skin.

"Did we keep you?" asked Amy as she moves beside Ezekiel and takes his arm with her own. This does nothing but push more straw into Ezekiel's skin as he struggles to not scratch. Rachael copies her and takes Severus's own arm with her own and instead of an itchy straw, Severus's arm is just pressed into Rachael's breasts which looks to be bigger than usual in Severus's perspective. He isn't sure if it's because of the costume or just Rachael using her Metamorphmagus abilities to grow them.

"Seeing as I placed a Warming Charm a half an hour ago and it has faded away, I wouldn't think so" remarked Severus with sarcasm dripping off of his voice as well as small smirk on his face.

Chloe smirks back at the Prince. "Well we ladies need precious time to look this good~" Chloe spreads her arms away from herself to emphasise what she means.

"You don't look half bad, Sevy" complimented Rachael as she looks her boyfriend up and down. She then jumps back when Severus's red cloak suddenly moves and pops out two bats that hovers at both sides of his grinning face. The bats squeak as they fly around Severus is a spiral pattern.

"How do you like my little upgrade to our project?" asked a still grinning Severus as Rachael looks at the floating bats in awe.

"Looks like Sev put the mark way high on his costume. I can't see anyone else topping that" said Ezekiel who is impressed that Severus complimented his Vampire costume with real bats. He isn't sure how he did it but at this point, he has given up trying to figure out the theory of Severus's mind. He can still feel the pounding headache he got after asking Severus to help him with his Herbology essay. While he got an O for it, the throbbing pain of his brain isn't worth it so he decided to only ask for his help if desperate. "Let's head out. Don't want all the drinks and food to be gone by the time we get there" said Ezekiel, although his real objective is to end the curse of his itchiness.

They all agree and head off to the School Square, where the main festivities are taking place. As they walk closer to the square, they can see a large influx of students as they got closer. Rachael hugs Severus's arm deeper into her breasts and smiles up at her boyfriend. "So my sexy Vampire, what do you think of my outfit?" As she speaks, her hair shortens and change into a shade of purple, further adding to the grand mix of purple.

"It's very purple." The two bats squeak in what he guesses to be agreement. "Even the bats agree with me and they're blind."

Rachael eyes the red cloak that is billowing behind Severus and asks, "So is that version two of our new flying method?" At this point, they are whispering to each other while walking behind the others as to prevent any news of their discovery being released. While they believe that they can trust the others, there could be a time where they accidentally spill the beans and they don't want that to happen anytime soon. The less people who know, the better.

Severus nods his head. "Yes but with a few upgrades. These little fellas just being a small bonus" he replied while referring to the two bats that are floating by his head. Even now, many heads are turning as the royal-looking Vampire of Severus walks by with two real bats by his side.

"Oh? Anything interesting that I should know about?" she enquired.

"How about Magical Absorption qualities?" If he was still in Hogwarts, Severus would have to explain to his Housemates that he has Charmed the cloak with several different Spells that interlock with one another to absorb the Magic of a Spell if hit. After several tests which involves a training dummy wearing the cloak, he has found that the Charms can protect the wearer from many harmful Spells, one being his very own Sectumsempra Jinx. While he doubts that it can protect him against the Killing Curse, it might just be able to protect against the other two Unforgivable Curses. Not that he wants to test out his theory any time soon.

"Holy shit, seriously? That would mean that you must have used at least ten Charms!"

"Thirteen actually."

The conversation stops as the group arrives at the bustling School Square. Surrounding the square are booths with all kinds of entertainment with a few of them selling Muggle fast food as well as many types of Muggle and Magical sweets. Looking around, they see that a majority of students are wearing costumes.

Severus finds it quite funny when a guy in a large toilet paper costume walks by. He's thankful that America doesn't have such strict beliefs of Purebloods like in England as such a costume would be heavily frowned upon in his home country. To be honest, he wouldn't be too surprised if the Purebloods were to go too far and arrest him for wearing such a thing. Another feature that Severus appreciates is that America doesn't have an Azkaban. While America does have the Idaho Magical Penitentiary, they don't use Dementors as wardens.

A shiver passes through Severus's spine as he thinks about the Dark Creatures. He only saw a picture of one in a book but even then, it still gives him chills. While he understands that the Dementors suck the joy and will to escape from prisoners, it's still a rather hardcore method of keeping the prisoners in line.

 **xXx**

Four hours have passed since the five arrived at the School Square. Through it all, the group have played several games at the booths and tried many of the Muggle food and sweets. Severus hums to himself as he watches Ezekiel and Chloe try to knock down a tower of plastic cups with baseballs at a game booth. Ezekiel knocks down his targets but Chloe just takes off the cup standing on top of the pile. As he expected, Chloe pouts like a child while Ezekiel chooses a fluffy Hippogriff and gives it to Amy who kisses his cheek as a thank you.

"Sevy~"

Immediately, Severus tenses up when he hears his girlfriend call his name with that Merlin awful playful tone of hers. Almost reluctantly, he turns his head over his shoulder to see Rachael who is smiling up at him.

"Do you know how much I love you?"

"What do you want?" asked Severus, knowing there's a hidden objective somewhere in her pretty little head.

Rachael pouts for a second before perking up. "I just thought that we could spruce up your costume even more. Is that so wrong?"

Severus narrows his eyes before he notices that she has a hand behind her back. "And how exactly are we gonna 'spruce' up my costume?" The two floating bats glance at one another, seemingly wanting to know how she expects to make his costume even better.

Rachael answers by pulling out the hand from behind her back and in it is a simple looking red lollipop. Of course, being in a world of Wizards and Witches, the lollipop isn't simple as Severus shakes his head once he recognizes what's in her hand. "I would rather hex myself than put that in my mouth."

"Who's putting what in their mouth?" asked Chloe with a smile that tells Severus that she most likely interpreted what he said wrong. Or more of the fact that she hears what she wants to hear. Ezekiel and Amy walk up to them as well, curious over the conversation.

"What's going on?" asked Amy.

"I'm just trying to help my boyfriend but he isn't appreciating my assistance."

"She wants me to suck on a Blood Pop!"

"Why not? Vampires love blood."

"I don't give a Leprechauns ass what they love, I am not sucking on that."

"Please?"

"Don't even try to bother." Severus folds his arms together and shakes his head. He swears that if she was in Hogwarts, she would have made very good friends with the Marauders, as long as she wasn't placed into Slytherin. Although, her jokes and pranks are more light hearted than the Marauders pranks which tends to put him in the infirmary for a couple of days.

Rachael opens her mouth to make a remark but notices a sudden lost of weight in her hand. Looking at it, she quickly notices that the Blood Pop is no longer there. Before she can say anything, Chloe and Ezekiel starts laughing while Amy giggles and points up over her head. She turns around and gapes as she sees Severus's bats flying away with the Blood Pop. "No fair! Those basterds owe me ten Sickles!"

Severus grins as he watches his two creations fly away with the Blood Pop to snack on it in a more secure environment. "Oh well, nothing can be done about it now. Let's move on."

Rachael looks over her shoulder to her boyfriend's retreating back with a playful glint in her eye. While she could just go and buy another Blood Pop, that most likely wouldn't change the fact that Severus isn't gonna take it. An idea pops in her head, making her grin as she walks quietly behind Severus who has stopped to look at a few prizes at a dart booth. When she gets behind him, she puts her plan into action. The others just watch a few steps away to see what she's gonna do.

Severus can't believe how much the Wizarding World in America has blended in with Muggle life. He would never have found any Muggle games in Britain, unless they belong to a Muggleborn and that's very rarely. He can't even remember the last time Lily played a game with him that wasn't Gobstones or Exploding Snap. Not noticing the lack of pain in his heart when he thinks of Lily, he watches a Pegasus-dressed student throw her dart at a board until he feels a tap to his shoulder and sighs, guessing that it's Rachael who wants to give him another Blood Pop. It isn't until he turns around to see that it isn't her but something much worse.

Much, much worse.

 _"Werewolf..."_

Severus can only stare in horror at the large set of sharp teeth of the brown furred creature. He doesn't even notice that from the lower neck down of the creature is the body of his girlfriend who is finding his reaction to her change very amusing. That is until his reaction starts turning bad.

Severus sucks in a sharp breath as flashbacks of the traumatic experience from last year starts flying across his vision, forcing him to remember everything about the horror which he has hid behind his Occlumency walls ever since. He sees himself heading towards the Shrieking Shack in the middle of the night after Sirius told him about Lily being in trouble. At the time, he didn't think about the fact that Sirius of all people told him such news or even care that he and Lily weren't talking to each other and went anyway, not caring for whatever punishment he may get from the professors. He got to the shack, only to find a room with deep cuts on the walls and no Lily. He would have gone to search for her but after a loud growl, it came for him.

Rachael knows that her joke may have gone a tad too far when Severus starts sweating buckets while trying to gasp for breath. It only got moremserious when he collapses onto his back and starts shaking wildly as drool dribbles out of his mouth. Rachael transforms back to normal as she falls to her knees by Severus's side. "What's happening to him!?"

Ezekiel crouches by Severus's shaking body and tries to hold him down. "Someone, get a professor!" he yelled while he tries to remember the training he learned from his auntie. Several of the surrounding students run off to find a professor, including Chloe. Amy kneels beside Rachael and places a comforting hand on the Metamorphmagus's shoulder while watching Severus's spasming body in worry.

Rachael can only watch in horror as Severus continues to spasm out of control. "SEV!"

 **xXx**

The doors to the infirmary open as Professor Deegan walks in with Severus's spasming body floating beside him. Following behind him is a worried Rachael, Ezekiel, Amy and Chloe.

"What on earth happened to him!?" yelled Alex as she stands up from her small desk and walks towards one of the beds near the doors. "Put him there and let me have a look" she ordered.

Paul nods and lightly drops Severus onto the bed. Alex runs over to a cabinet and rummages through the many vials of potions and elixers until finally grabbing a vial that contains a greyish liquid. She runs back to Severus and forces it into his mouth and rubs his throat to make him swallow. In almost an instant, his spasming stops and his breathing turns even. Alex turns around and looks at everyone with a light glare. "Anyone gonna tell me about what happened?"

"I-It was may fault" admitted Rachael with a sniffle. "I thought it would be funny if I scared him by changing my face into a Werewolf."

"Mission accomplished, you scared him good" told the Healer with a glare, causing Rachael to flinch.

"Enough Alex. I'm sure Rachael has learned her lesson. Can you tell us what is wrong with Severus?"

"I'm gonna need to check his body to make sure his shaking didn't do anything to harm himself. From what I saw, he just went into shock." The students were reluctantly guided out of the infirmary by Patrick before he comes back and surrounds the bed with blinds . "What I want to know is why he went into shock from seeing a Werewolf. That shouldn't have happened unless he has had a close experience with the source of his shock." Rachael unbuttons Severus's emerald shirt and opens it, only to gasp at what she sees. "Dear Merlin..."

"What on earth" gasped Professor Deegan as he stares at Severus's chest in shock. "Is that a scar?"

"Not just any scar" said Alex, a stoic expression on the usually enthusiastic Healer's face. "That scar came from a Werewolf. It looks like it healed somewhat but there's no mistaking it." _"What kind of incompetent Healers do Hogwarts have to ignore such an injury on a student?"_

"How do you think he got it?" he asked while feeling worry for his student. It doesn't take a genius to not notice the small hints and signs of neglect in Severus when he flinches when touched but to think that his student has been attacked by a Werewolf of all things. He now understands that the boy might have had a worse life than any of them have thought, even Alex.

"I wouldn't know but we can ask him when he wakes up. For now, let's just give him some rest." Alex looks at Severus's sleeping form, somberly. "He deserves it." Patrick nods his head in agreement and after taking one more glance, he leaves the boy to rest.

 **( 2 November 1976 - Infirmary )**

Severus groans as he starts to regain consciousness. The first thing he notices is that his throat is as dry as the Sahara Desert but thankfully, Alex has come over to him with a glass of water when she hears him wake up.

"Don't overtax yourself. You're body is still healing from the shock" told Alex while helping the teen to drink the water.

After being sure that his throat no longer feels like he drank a cup of sand, he looks around and sees that he's back in the infirmary. "How did I get here?"

"You went into shock during the Halloween celebration after Rachael transformed her face to that of a Werewolf." Alex frowns as Severus tilts his head down so his long hair can hide his face. "Severus, I hope you can indulge me with how you got that scar on your chest."

"I can't tell you."

"Severus, holding back knowledge of such injuries may come and bite you on your ass if you don't let me help. I insist that you tell me or I'm going to have to involve the headmaster" Alex told him in a much firmer tone. She thought she got through to him when he lifts his head high enough to let her see his eyes but he quickly hides behind the curtain of his hair again.

"I can't tell you."

Alex sighs, wondering what on earth has happened to the young man sitting in the bed. The signs of neglect and physical abuse has been easy to notice but to have the nerve to actually hide the fact that he has been attacked by a Werewolf of all things! While it isn't as serious as getting infected, an encounter of any kind of a violent Werewolf isn't something that should be easily hidden, yet he has done so for months without her finding out. Sarah did tell her that he is quite skilled in Occlumency but to such a degree is terrifying. She can only imagine what else he might be hiding inside that special mind of his, both good and bad.

"Fine, but I did warn you." She sends her Patronus, which is a fox, to send her message to the headmaster.

It took just two minutes for the message to be delivered and for the headmaster to arrive to the scene with a worried expression on his face. "I'm sorry to hear about what happened. How are you young man?"

"I'm fine sir, nothing that a bit of rest can't help" replied Severus who's feeling embarrassed that he is dragging the headmaster away from his work to actually deal with him. Something that Dumbledore would never do for his students, unless they're Gryffindors, of course.

"That's good to hear." William looks over to his Head Healer, curiously. "You're Patronus mentioned something about needing me to see something important?"

Alex nods her head. "Yes sir, if you could take a look at Mr. Prince's chest, you'll see the problem."

The headmaster looks back at the shirtless teen and notices the mark, immediately. William has to blink a few times so he can make sure that he isn't seeing things in his old age. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is." William walks by Severus's bedside to take a closer look at the scar.

"I'm afraid so sir. Mister Prince isn't effected with Lycantrophy but the scar is worrying nonetheless. However, Mister Prince refuses to tell me where he got the scar."

The headmaster looks at Severus who turns his head away to avoid the headmaster's gaze while also keeping up his Occlumency. "Is there a reason why you can't tell us about where you attained such an injury?"

"I just can't" is Severus's reply.

The headmaster stares at Severus, humming for a few seconds before he understandingly nods. "I see. So you're under oath."

Severus's head couldn't swirve any faster when he looks at his headmaster in surprise and worry. "How?"

"When you're as old as I am, you tend to recognize all the signs" answered William with a somber smile.

Alex's eyes are wide open, clearly trying to understand the situation. "Wait, if he's under oath than doesn't that mean-"

"Someone doesn't want a certain piece of news out. Isn't that right, Mr. Prince?"

Severus warily nods his head. "Yes sir."

"I think that it's about time that we figure out what has been going on in Hogwarts" said the headmaster with a hint of sternness in his tone of voice. With a flick of his finger, he summons a chair to his side and sits down while leaning against his cane. "Now, while you may be under oath from telling us about where and how you got your scar, that doesn't stop me from asking questions and you to answer with nods or shakes of your head. Do you understand where I'm going with this?"

Severus blinks, feeling impressed with how smart that plan sounds. While it's true that the oath prevents him from speaking out the truth, it doesn't stop him from answering certain questions with head that in thought, he nods his head.

William breathes deeply. "Good. First question, that scar on your chest." He lifts his staff to point at the scar. "Was that caused by a Werewolf?"

Severus's eyes scan the room nervously but the nod of encouragement from Alex gives him the courage to nod his head. Seeing as he isn't dead, he sighs in relief.

"Do you know who gave you that scar?"

Severus nods again, trying his best to not scowl over the thought of Remus Lupin who almost killed him. He can also blame Sirius Black for that since it was him who tricked himself into checking out the Shrieking Shack during the full moon.

"Does Dumbledore know about the attack?"

Again, Severus nods his head.

"Did he take necessary actions over the attack?"

This time, the Prince couldn't help himself but scowl when he rememebers the "necessary actions" that Dumbledore took after the incident. He forced him to swear a Magical Oath to not reveal Remus's condition under threat of expulsion, gave him two weeks of detention for being out of the castle at night, gave the Gryffindors a hundred points for Potter apparently saving his life and told him that he owes a life debt to Potter. A life debt that he refuses to accept, not after all the times the Marauders almost killed him with their "pranks".

"From your facial expression, I'm guessing he didn't" said William with a light scowl on his face. He only asked a few questions but he can already make a guess on the circumstances.

"The Werewolf, are they living in the school?"

Another nod.

"Is it a teacher?"

Severus shakes his head.

"So it's a student?"

Severus nods again.

"Dear Merlin, a Werewolf in a school full of children" gasped Alex in disbelief. She personally doesn't have a problem with Werewolves since most of them are just unlucky enough to get bitten by a more bloodthirsty Werewolf, like that Fenrir Greyback who has been terrorising and infecting innocent people in Britain for years. What she can't stand is the fact that there's a Werewolf in a school full of children and the headmaster is actually protecting them!

"I would have thought that Dumbledore would have more sense than that" sighed William before he stands up from his seat. "I hope you rest well, Mister Prince. We can hopefully discuss this at a more approachable time." William turns and nods his head to Alex who returns it and walks out of the infirmary.

Alex waits for the headmaster to be out of listening distance before she looks over at Severus. "Just rest for now. I'll drop by later to see how you're doing."

Severus nods in appreciation before he sighs and rests his head back onto his pillow. He can already tell that he won't be getting any sleep for a while with the million thoughts running through his head.

Page 15 of 15


	5. Severus's History

**AU: To the flamer who says I used every Harry Potter cliche, get over it. I can't help but like the cliche things in life so if you don't like then don't read.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **xXx**

 **( 5 November 1976 - Infirmary )**

In front of the closed doors of the infirmary, Rachael can be found nervously pacing and chewing on her thumbnail while briefly stopping to look at the door for a few seconds before continuing her pacing. She has been doing the same thing for the last three days, whenever she isn't in class of course. Although, her grades have gone down hill in all her subjects since she can't concentrate on them with Severus in the infirmary and knowing the fact that it's because of her.

 _"What do I say to him? Do I apologize? Do I even have a right to apologize?"_ she wondered while gazing at the closed doors with a sense of guilt dwelling in her stomach. Students walking by her throw Rachael brief looks before walking by her to continue with whatever they're doing. It is no secret on why Rachael is always hanging around by the doors of the infirmary but nobody says anything about it as they all know that it doesn't involve them. Even Rachael's friends is giving her space and only come by to offer some encouragement which usually does nothing for the Metamorphmagus. Her guilt only gets worse because her friends visit Severus every day but she has yet to visit him once.

Walking around the corner of the hallway, Alex takes a sip of her coffee before she sees who is still loitering in front of her infirmary doors. "You're still hanging aroung here?" asked Alex with a raised brow. It was amusing at first to see the teen walk up and down the hallway a nervous wreck but now, it has gotten old.

Rachael jumps up in surprise and turns around to see the Head Healer staring at her with one hand on her hip and the other holding a cup of coffee. "Sorry" she squeaked before she tries to walk past the healer, only for Alex to stop her by grabbing her arm.

"How about instead of running away, you go in and see how Severus is doing?" asked Alex, looking over her shoulder.

Rachael looks to have a miniature panic attack at the prospect of meeting Severus when she isn't mentally preserve. "But what do I say to him?"

Alex shakes her head and drags the Metamorphmagus to the infirmary, much to the reluctance of Rachael who drags her feet behind herself. "You can start by saying hello to him" told Alex before she swirves around Rachael and pushes her through the doors. Rachael squeals as she barely catches herself from falling on the floor. She spins and glares at the doorway, only to see that the Head Healer has 'magically' disappeared.

"Rachael?"

Rachael stiffens to the smooth voice of her boyfriend who is curiously gazing at her from his bed. On his lap is a thick textbook that she recognizes as being the school textbook on Charms. With him being confined in the hospital for three days straight, she can't blame him for trying to read up. Besides, it isn't the first time Severus has ended up in the infirmary. It's actually his third time if she remembers correctly.

What are you doing?" he asked, curiously.

Rachael suddenly finds her feet a lot more interesting to look at than looking into the dark pools of Severus's eyes.

Severus frowns as he watches his girlfriend stare down at the floor and shuffle nervously in the middle of the infirmary. He can take a good guess on why the always overconfident and playful Metamorphmagus is now being a shy and nervous wreck. "Rachael" he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose while shaking his head.

Rachael nervously takes her eyes off the floor and looks over at Severus who is looking at her with a frown which does little to improve her courage on the matter. Severus places his textbook on the side table and pats the side of his bed. Rachael gets the message and reluctantly walks over to the bed and takes a seat. She's caught off guard when Severus wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her into an embrace. She doesn't fight it and instead, leans into Severus's ccomfortable chest and relishes in the warmth. "I'm sorry."

Her apology is muffled by Severus's chest but he smiles nonetheless and pats her head to comfort the Metamorphmagus. "It's alright, I know you are" he replied. He can't actually blame her for him going into shock. He has the Marauders to thank for traumatizing him after that incident at the Shrieking Shack. While her little prank on morphing herself to look like a Werewolf is a bit on the more extreme side, he knows that she didn't do it to harm him. He sighs, knowing that its about time he told her about the few unpleasant truths of his life in Britain.

Severus pulls back and looks at Rachael who's hair has turn to a light shade of pink before turning to a light brown. "There's some things I should probably tell you about my life in Hogwarts. I can't exactly tell you what the reason is for me going into shock but I can do the next best thing."

Rachael frowns, wondering where and why the topic of Hogwarts is being discussed until Severus mentions about the reason why he went into shock. Being a smart girl, she can connect the few dots to come up with the conclusions that Severus had an experience with a Werewolf and how it's connected to his previous school. Didn't he tell them all that was needed to know about Hogwarts? While the idea of living and studying in a giant castle sounds interesting enough, she doesn't like the lack of clubs there, neither does she like the House System they have. From what little she could get out of Severus, it sounds very prejudice with the thought of being loyal to a group of strangers than a friend in another House. "Okay~?"

Severus sighs again and rubs the top of his head and thinks about where to start on the subject of his abuse. "Well I guess I can start off saying that in Hogwarts, I wasn't exactly popular with everyone." Rachael's frown only gets deeper as she wonders why is that. Yes, he can be a bit serious at times but that's not something to judge. "The main reason is because I was sorted into Slytherin House."

"Slytherin... isn't that the house with snakes?" she asked, remembering reading a book about Hogwarts which described a bit on the four Houses and how each one are aligned with a certain animal.

Severus nods. "It is. It's also the same House that the Dark Lord and most of his followers comes from. Ever since the reveal of the Dark Lord, Slytherin has been marked as the House that only takes in future Death Eaters. I'm sure you can guess how well the Slytherins are treated by the other students and the faculty since everyone believes the lies."

Rachael widens her eyes in disbelief. She can't actually believe that just because one evil man came from Slytherin that everyone else in the House has to be treated like future killers.

"At the time, my looks didn't do me any favours either" told Severus with a shake of his head which makes his silky hair hit himself in the sides of his face. That's where Rachael gets totally skeptical. She even looks him up and down to see if she's missing some.

Noticing the looks, Severus chuckles lowly. "I didn't look this devishly handsome all the time you know" he joked. He even waves his hand through his hair like the many times he saw Potter do it in Lily's presence. Rachael giggles at her supposed serious boyfriend who chuckles lightly himself. "Actually, I just got my makeover on the first few days before I came to class in Oliver Gardens. Had a whole medical check up and got Ms. Alex to fix me up. Before that, I had crooked yellow teeth, greasy hair and a long crooked nose. In other words, I didn't exactly fit in with anyone there" he told his girlfriend, frowning lightly as he remembers the times that he would be called names because of his appearance.

Rachael lightly scowls at the thought of Hogwarts. While she's a prankster at heart, if there's one thing she hates in the world, that's a bully. And from what she is hearing, Hogwarts sounds like a school full of bullies. "That place sounds brutal. To pick on you because of what you look like and what House you belong to, I just can't see that ever happening here" she said, resting her forehead against Severus's chest.

Severus smiles as he feels a warm tingle on his chest where Rachael's forehead is resting on. He can agree with her that the bullying and prejudice that's found in Hogwarts won't be ever found in Oliver Gardens. Such behaviour will be forcefully ripped out of every students unless they want to find themselves with an expulsion. "Yea, it was pretty bad. The biggest pains in my ass was a group of boys in my year that was and still are the biggest group of children you'll ever see. They pick on other students but mostly on Slytherins because they believe the story that we are all going to join the Dark Lord when we graduate. Unfortunately, I was always a target for them."

Rachael's scowl worsens as her hair suddenly grows longer and turns into a deep shade of red, indicating that she is angry. After hanging around Rachael for a while, Severus has grown accustomed to the changes of length and colour in her hair. He has even made up categories on the emotions she is feeling by the colour of her hair with red being anger, green being anxiety, brown being calmness, etc. He has interpreted that the length of her hair changes from the amount of passion she is feeling in her emotions with short hair meaning that she is only slightly passionate and the long hair meaning that she is feeling very strongly over her emotions.

"Sounds like a big group of toerags to me" she scowled, causing Severus to smile happily over Rachael calling the Marauders the same name that he use to call them with Lily.

Without a second thought of his former best friend and love interest, Severus continues. "Yea, they are. They're a prideful bunch as well who are in Gryffindor. Can fool me since none of them show bravery as they mostly attack me from behind. They call themselves the Marauders."

Here, Rachael snorts in amusement at the name. "In other words, people who search out others to rob and kill. Raiders, plunderers, looters and pirates. Sounds about right."

Severus thinks about it for a few seconds before he chuckles a little. Now that he thinks about it, the name fits them perfectly and they actually have the nerve the brag about it to others. He frowns over the acts the group of four have done in his five years of attending Hogwarts. "For five years, the four have tripped, hexed and jinxed students of all ages and they always claim that their immature acts are just pranks and always get off scot free because of it. No matter how many people get hurt from their antics."

"Don't they get punished by the professors?"

Severus scowls and scoffs at the idea of the faculty actually giving a damn. "All the professors are biased to them because they are from the House of Bravery, Gryffindor." He inwardly scoffs at the thought of them being brave since they attack him behind his back more than any Slytherin. "If they attack me, I'm the one to get in trouble in the end just because I defend myself. What's worse, even the headmaster and my own Head of House are biased towards them. My side of the story is never even considered since I'm usually sent on my merry way with a punishment while the toerags get away with a few more points for their House" he told Rachael in disdain.

Rachael shakes her head in disgust. "Then they best pray that I never get over there in their fancy castle or I'll have to whoop their asses to kingdom come."

Severus laughs lowly over the thought of Rachael going on a warpath in Hogwarts and even challenging Dumbledore to a duel.

A calm but relaxing atmosphere fill the quiet and empty infirmary as the couple lean against one another with closed eyes and small smiles on their faces. Severus relishes in the peace and quiet while in the company of his girlfriend. He opens his mouth to speak before stopping himself at the last second. He thinks for a second and wonder if he should mention Lily but decides not to ruin the moment by bringing her up. Nothing good ever happens whenever she's involved anyway.

It's Rachael who interrupts the silence when she speaks. "You know, it's quite ironic that everything starts getting better after you left Hogwarts, isn't it?"

Severus turns slightly to look at Rachael who makes eye contact with her pair of hazel eyes. With a smile he would never have shown a few months ago, he leans down and presses his lips against Rachael's own. Just a simple kiss to the lips but the passion is clearly there. A moment later, the pair separate and smile as they lean their foreheads against each other's.

With his eyes closed, memories of his five years in Hogwarts flash before his eyes. The day he and Lily left for Hogwarts together with one ending up in Slytherin and the other in the rival House, Gryffindor. How the Marauders bully him almost every day because of his appearance, lack of wealth and for being apart of Slytherin. How he and Lily started to drift apart from one another with all of her friends and Marauders manipulating her into believing he's going to be a Death Eater in the future. How Lily scolds him for reading up on Dark Magic and hanging around with his own Housemates. How Lily breaks his heart by flirting with his biggest bully who has tormented himself for years. The incident by Black Lake which he made his mistake on calling Lily a Mudblood. How Lily ignored his pleas for forgiveness and even called him the cursed nickname that the Marauders made up for him, Snivellus.

Now, Severus thinks back to the few months he has been attending Oliver Gardens. He thinks back on how his employer/mentor sent one of his own experiments to the Oliver Gardens behind his back and got him invited to the very prestigious school. How he ended up staying at the infirmary on the first day and getting proper medical help. Taking one of his own Healing Potions which fixed him of his ugly nose. The shaky first meeting between himself and Rachael before he befriends her and the rest of the group. How he got the inheritance of the Prince family. How he gets to actually have fun in the school with no fear of bullies attacking him or embarrassing himself in public. His successful project which ended up with Rachael and himself getting together. Getting actual recognition and support from unbiased professors and students.

Within a few months of attending Oliver Gardens, Severus can happily admit to anyone who asks that life in the prestigious school is so much better than the life of suffering he got in Hogwarts.

"Yes, very ironic" he sighed, feeling blissfully happy at the moment.

 **( Hogwarts - Dumbledore's Office )**

"You may head back to class now. Remember to behave" spoke Albus Dumbledore as he sends two more grumbling students, a sixth year Gryffindor and a fifth year Slytherin, back to class.

Once the door to his office closes behind the pair, Albus sighs as the twinkle in his eyes dwindles. Taking off his glasses, he rubs his eyes in frustration before putting them back on and leaning back into his chair. That has been the fourth pair of students today who have been brought to his office after another attack on each other in the hallways.

Grabbing a lemon drop from the bowl on his table and popping it in his mouth, he savours the taste of his favourite treat to rid of the migraine that is building up. _"Why is there such hostility between the children? Can't they understand that we need to work together to fight of the upcoming darkness"_ thought Dumbledore as he breathes out of his nose. He can't have this much hostility between the students or it'll cripple any chance of recruitment into his Order of the Phoenix.

Lately, there has been an increase of fights erupting all over the school between Gryffindor and Slytherin students and for some reason, nobody is telling him why. While he may favour his own House, Albus admits that he can't continue to show favoritism to it with the current going ons with everyone or questions will be asked to the wrong people. People who show nothing but pleasure in seeing him lose his post as headmaster of Hogwarts.

Even the other two Houses have been brought into the sudden civil war with Hufflepuffs taking Gryffindor's side with Ravenclaw surprisingly taking Slytherin's. The list of detentions have been increasing rapidly while the House Points between all four Houses have been falling with Slytherin and Ravenclaw having lost the most, due to their attacks being more ruthless than his Gryffindors, although there are times where he has to tell of the four Marauder boys for going a bit far with Spells.

The source of the infighting is still unknown to Albus but he wishes that it stops soon or he'll have to have every Wand seized until the Christmas holidays and maybe longer if it continues afterwards.

The door of his offie opens to show Filch with another group of students behind him, glaring at each other in clear distaste for one another. "Found another group of brats fighting in the halls again, Mr. Dumbledore."

Albus sighs once more and takes another lemon drop. He can feel that today is going to be a long day.

 **( 27 November 1996 - Oliver Gardens )**

"Is this finally it?"

Severus nods his head as he hands over the bottle, which is full of a silver substance, to the headmaster who eyes the contents closely and hums softly in thought. "I can only hope so, sir. It still needs to be tested on humans but I have full confidence that this will be a success" told Severus with his back straight and his voice dripping with confidence.

Finally, he has finished the last steps needed to complete his Limb Regeneration Potion. After many failed attempts which usually ended up with his cauldrons ending up in smoke and another turning into a pile of pinkish goo, he finally got the right ingredients, the correct doses and succeeded to stabilise the magical components so they don't explode in his face. The second step was testing the Potion which he did with the world's most popular test subjects, mice.

The first batch of injured mice ended up dead within seconds of consuming the potion so he replaced the Dragon's Tongue with Ash Hopper Jellyfish in hope to correct his micro. Instead, the second attempt on a batch ended up exploding the mice into chunks, only after ten minutes of slow limb regeneration so with the right direction, Severus added a small amount of grounded Nightshade to his Nightshade is known to be highly poisonous, a small amount can lessen the power of Ash Hopper Jellyfish while ridding most of its poisonous qualities. However, Severus can make an educated guess that the user will still suffer from a light stomach ache.

The third trial ended up as a success after the batch of injured mice regenerated their lost limbs within ten hours. From close inspection, the mice shown that they can use their new limbs within minutes of recovering them. After a week of studying the specimens, not one of the mice showed any negative side effects, other than a resting period to get over the slight stomach pain and the pain of regenerating a limb. In Severus's book, it's a success.

The reason he is speaking to the headmaster in his office is so he can get help from the faculty to find human test subjects for his new potion since the school provides such a service to the more inventive students such as himself.

The headmaster smiles at his student as he places the bottle carefully onto his table and folds his fingers together. "If you have full confidence in your creation then so will I. I'll arrange everything with St. Fierra to gather willing participants for your creation. With the possibility of regaining lost limbs, I'm sure there'll be many people lining up to try the potion."

Severus smiles lightly from his chair and bows his head in gratitude to the headmaster. Dumbledore would never show this much enthusiasm for one of his students, unless they are a Gryffindor, of course. After all, he is the man who found amusement in the Marauders making his life a living hell in his own school. "Thank you sir."

William chuckles while waving off the poor boy. "Now, now, we'll have none of that bowing stuff here. I'm just an old man who is happy to help my students get on their path to life. It's as much as a pleasure to me as it is for you."

Severus sits up but inwardly denies the part about him being just a simple old man. Dumbledore is also a 'simple old man' but he is still the strongest Wizard in the world who even Voldemort fears. Even sitting this close to the headmaster, he can feel the power off the elderly headmaster and it isn't something to scoff at. "No matter, I am grateful for the help."

"Of course. Everyone needs help sometimes in their lives and there's no pain in accepting it from time to time" told William with eyes showing that he knows this by experience. Either it being good or bad experience, Severus isn't sure. William's eyes zone back to normal and he coughs into his fist. "Just as a warning, if this potion of yours ends up as a success as you believe it will be, you will be getting a lot of attention in the Wizarding World so I want you to be prepared for that."

"What do you mean by that, sir?"

"I mean that the creation of a potion that can actually regenerate lost limbs will be something that will attract the attention of Potion Masters, Healers and even Government Officials from all over the world. That's not even including fact that such a world changing creation was brewed by a sixteen year old who isn't out of school yet." William chuckles to himself. "There's also the fact that you are the one who redefined the Healing Draught so I wouldn't be too surprised if a few people start fighting over you."

Severus almost releases a groan over the thought of such attention. After being pranked and embarrassed in front of large crowds of other students for years, Severus has grown a distaste of a large group of people actually watching him closely. While it's good publicity and a good chance to get apprenticed under a Potion Master, that sounds a lot more like trouble than anything else. "Thank you for the warning but I remain confident in my decision." Even with his unfavourable love for too much attention, he can't pass up the chance of testing his potion and if it does succeed, it'll help hundreds and thousands of people all over the world, especially those fighting the Death Eaters in England. Aurors can't use lethal means to fight but Death Eaters don't mind getting their hands bloody. The three Unforgivables are their favourite Spells after all.

The headmaster nods his head in both understanding and pride for his student attempting something that can help so many people. "Very well. I hope for the best of results during the testing trials."

Severus stands up and shakes the headmaster's offered hand, gratefully. "I hope so too." Ending the handshake, Severus picks up his bag and leaves the head master's office to get back to the dormitory and rest up before he heads back to the Potion's Club.

Once the door to his office close, William rests into his comfortable chair and sighs with a smile on his face with his fingers folded on his lap. His eyes linger on the potion resting on his desk and he chuckles to himself over the thought of having such a brilliant student under his care. Yes, every student in the school has an expertise that makes them skilled in their field but Severus, he is something different all together. Even now, Severus has mostly caught up with the rest of the students and from what he hears, is doing quite well for himself in all of his subjects, especially in Potions.

"Albus, you don't even understand what you gave up, do you?" he muttered to himself with a light smirk.

 **( Hogwarts - Slytherin Common Room )**

Sitting on a pair of couches facing each other with a small table between them are Mulciber, Avery and Regulus who are all sharing the same nervous expression on their faces. The reason for this is because they are currently having a meeting revolving around a certain Slytherin.

Severus Snape.

"Please tell me you found something on Snape's whereabouts" asked Avery with a hint of sweat dripping off his brow.

Regulus shakes his head. "Sorry to say but I got nothing. His Mudblood friend won't spill anything about him or where he lives but I doubt she knows anything. Not like they were good friends after he called the Mudblood her given title" Regulus said with a sneer.

"I don't give a crap about that. What I do care about is who's going to be the one to tell the Dark Lord where Snape is and why we can't bring him" told Mulciber.

All three Slytherins shiver at the thought of being at the end of an angered Dark Lord's Wand. It's actually no surprise that the Dark Lord has shown an interest in Snape since he has been looking for a Potion Master as of late and Snape is the best candidate for the title. Neither boy can think of one moment in the five years of being in Hogwarts did Snape not get an O in every Potion Class. It's just that the Mudblood Evans always gets the recognition because she's Horace's little pet student.

"We can't give up now. If we don't find Snape and bring him to the Dark Lord, we're dead" hissed Avery in fear of what will happen once they appear to the Dark Lord, empty handed. They'll be lucky if they get out of it alive.

"We only got until the end of the school year before we have to go to him for our marks. He told us specifiallly to bring Snape to him or he'll make us pay" groaned Regulus, flinching to the phantom pain of a Cruciatus Curse. He has never been the target of one before but he has heard only bad things about it. It apparently feels like your body is being pierced with hundreds of hot knives and from the description, he doesn't want to suffer it anytime soon.

"What can we do about it? He's not anywhere in the school and we can't leave anytime soon" said Mulciber.

Regulus grits his teeth in annoyance, finding it frustrating and annoying that a Half-Blood is causing so much bother, just because he decided to disappear for some stupid reason. Probably to cry in peace after having his Mudblood break up their shagging sessions. The only positive outcome for his disappearance is the little war Slytherin has with Gryffindor. It's amazing how a few sympathetic words and fake tears can encourage the entire House to fight back against Gryffindor for Snape's so-called honour. It only got better when Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff got involved and now, it's literally an all out brawl. If Bellatrix was still here, he can be sure that she would find this funny and entertaining.

Avery's eyes open and he smirks. "What about asking Lucius for help? He can help search for Snape while we're getting information here."

Mulciber eyes his friend a bit sceptically. "So, you're great idea is asking the Dark Lord's second-in-command to find someone who we told we have. And if in some miracle that Malfoy doesn't rat on us, you want us to be in debt to him?" The last thing he wants is to be in debt to a prick like Lucius Malfoy who is known to squeeze the life out of everyone who is in his debt.

Regulus glares at Mulciber. "Do you have a better idea. If you do, speak up so we can here it." To Mulciber's silence, Regulus scoffs. "That's what I thought."

"So.. who's gonna send the owl?" asked Avery, eying both future Death Eaters.

The three Slytherins looks at one another with expressions showing that neither of them want to be the one to do it. While not as powerful or bloodthirsty as he Dark Lord, Lucius doesn't hold back on Unforgivables.

It's Mulciber who offers an ultimatum. "Want to draw straws?"

 **( 14 December 1976 - Oliver Gardens )**

After finishing up Arithmancy and having a thirty minute break until he has to go to Charms, Severus walks into Snap and Pop's Sweet Shop and looks around the selection of sweets. Another of the many pros to attending Oliver Gardens is that the school does not hold back any expenses as it has several coffee shops, restaurants, food stores and two sweet shops on campus and that there are no rules against going to them, as long as it isn't during class.

Hogwarts didn't have any shops or stores so students have to go to the town of Hogsmeade to buy whatever sweets they want there but they can only go a few times during the year. Severus never liked going to Hogsmeade anyway unless he went with Lily. They use to go all the time until third year where she started going with her own friends, Mary and Alice. Since then, he stopped going altogether.

Severus browses the aisles that are full of Acid Pops, Blood Pops, Butterscotch, Caramel Cobwebs, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, Chocolate Wands, Fainting Fancies, Fizzing Whizzbees, Goodwin's Chocolate Extravaganza, Hiccough Sweets, Hocus Pocus Pops, Ice Mice, Jelly Skulls, Jelly Slugs, Licorice Snaps, Licorice Wands, Nosebleed Nougats, Nut Brittles, Pepper Imps, Pink Coconut Ice, Powdered Porcupines, Puking Pastilles, Pumpkin Pasties, Salt Water Taffy, Shaved Caterpillars, Sherbet Lemons, Shock-o-Chocs, Skeletel Sweets, Skiving Snackbox, Sugar Hexes, Sugar Mice, Sugar Quills, Sugar Almonds, Sweet Crystals, Ton-Tongue Toffee, Tooth Splintering Strong Mints, Treacle Fudge, Wakefields Off the Record Glow in the Dark Gum, Wizochoc and Zebra Hoofs.

On another aisle are the Muggle sweets for those who aren't comfortable with Wizarding Sweets which are mostly for Muggleborns. There are Biscuits, Brownies, Bugglegum, Cakes, Candyfloss, Chocoballs, Chocolate, Cough Drops, Doughnuts, Gummy Worms, Ice Cream, Mars Bars, Marshmallows, Peppermints, Sour Strawberry Strips, Toffee, Watermelon Strips, Wine-Gum, Wrapped Cramels and Yorkshire Mix.

Now being able to afford whatever he wants, Severus has grown into having a sugar tooth which he encourages every so often with a trip to the sweet shop. Going green over the thought of tasting Salt Water Taffy, Severus fills his sweet bag with Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, Jelly Skulls and his favourite treat, Sugar Quills. After getting the amount he wants, he decides to treat Rachael and fills a second bag of her favourite sweets which are Ton-Tongue Toffee, Pumpkin Pasties and a few Chocoballs. He purchases the sweets by the counter and leaves while munching on a few sweets from his own bag.

While browsing the campus, Severus wonders about which country is going to be the first his team duels in the tournament. Apparently, nobody will know until the first day back from Christmas Holidays but it should be fun nonetheless. Not like he needs to win for the prize money but the others are pretty excited over the chance of winning. Now that he is thinking about the tournement, he wonders if Britain or Scotland has a team taking part in the International tournament. Hogwarts doesn't have any Dueling Teams so which school does?

While walking near an open park, Severus catches sight of a chatting Rachael and Chloe sitting on a nearby bench. Rachael notices her boyfriend and waves him over which he does so. "Hey girls."

"Hey Sev, what's the news around campus?" asked Rachael with a coy grin as her hair changes into a short orange.

Severus shrug his shoulders. "Nothing much. From what I hear, Jessie and Michael were caught making out in one of the girls bathroom of the sweets shop. Apparently, they were only one article of clothing away from shagging."

Chloe raises a curious brow at Severus, feeling clearly sceptical over the thought of the shy girl Jessie, making out with the captain of the Quidditch team. "Really? And who did you here this from?" she asked, wanting to know the source of the rumour.

"From Paul Ryan."

Both Chloe and Rachael snorts in amusement while Severus blinks in uncertainty. Chloe waves Severus off with an amusing smirk. "Ignore whatever that liar says to ya. It's all a pile of shite."

"Really?"

Rachael nods her head in agreement with Chloe. "Yep. The basterd just wants a rise out of everyone so everyone tends to ignore him. I swear, the book of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is based off him. He even once spread a rumour that Chloe and I were shagging. After we were through with him, he doesn't even dare look us in the eyes. Of course, this was done very discretely."

A faint blush covers Severus's cheeks at the image of actually seeing Rachael and Chloe shag. While he knows that Chloe is one of the more outgoing girls, he isn't sure if she's 'that' outgoing. Rachael, he highly doubts. Chloe grins when she notices Severus's blush. "Having dirty thoughts are we? I didn't know the great Prince was such a pervert" she joked.

"Shut it" grumbled Severus, sending her a light glare before he hands over a bag of sweets to Rachael. "Before I forget, I got these for you."

Rachael takes the bag and eyes the contents with a wide grin. "Thanks love" said Rachael as she stands and gives Severus a chaste kiss on the lips.

Chloe pouts at the loving scene playing out in front of her. "Aw~, I wish I had a caring boyfriend like that" she moaned in disappointment while folding her arms together.

Rachael turns to her friend with a playful smirk on her face. "Maybe if you didn't date a new guy every week, you might get to know him enough for him to actually care. You must've dated every boy here."

Chloe looks at Rachael with a playful offended expression. "Just so you know, I haven't dated every boy here" told Chloe before she winks at Severus who chuckles lightly. His chuckling gets deeper when Rachael wraps her arms around his slim frame and hugs him tightly.

"Get your own! This one is mine" said Rachael while hugging Severus protectively.

Chloe raises her hands up in mock surrender. "Fine, I'll back off."

"Good" said Rachael before she pecks Severus on the cheek. She walks around Severus and pushes him on the bench beside Chloe and sits on his lap before he can protest. "So Sev, got any plans for the Christmas Holidays?" she asked her boyfriend.

Getting use to his girlfriend sitting on his lap, Severus closes his eyes in thought. Christmas has never actually been anything special for Severus as it usually involves Tobias getting drunk even more and beating him and his mother senseless. No presents were exchanged as they never had the money to spare since Tobias always used it in the pub. They didn't even have decorations up either, not even a Christmas Tree. Honestly, it felt like any other day of the week.

Opening his eyes, he answers the question. "Not really. I'm going to visit the Prince Manor during the holidays so I can see what else has been left for me. Other than that, nothing" he answered with a shrug.

Rachael frowns in dislike of Severus being alone for the holidays. He did tell her about the death of 'both' of his parents but nothing else about any other relatives that he may be celebrating with but she can guess that he doesn't have anymore. Suddenly, a thought comes to mind which causes her to blush and fidget in almost embarrassment on his lap. "W-Well, if you d-dont mind, how a-about coming over t-to my place f-for Christmas?"

Severus looks down at Rachael with surprise etched on his face. The last thing he expected of today is to actually get invited to his girlfriend's place for the holidays. This also means he has to go through the process of meeting the parents of his girlfriend who may or may not like him dating their daughter. No pressure at all. "What about your parents? Are you sure they wouldn't mind me going?"

Rachael smiles and nods her head while regaining most of her confidence. "I'm sure. I've already sent them a few messages about us so honestly, I think it's about time that they meet you in person."

Severus widens his eyes. "You've told them about me? About us dating?" He can only imagine what their response was. From what he heard from Amy, Ezekiel was almost killed by her father for 'corrupting' his little girl. Apparently, it is only because of Amy stepping between them that he is alive today. However, there is a burn mark on Ezekiel's hip that Severus remembers asking about once but didn't get an answer except for a very scared expression on his face. At least he now knows where he got it from.

Rachael rolls her eyes when she sees the nervous expression on Severus's face and flicks his nose playfully to get back his attention. "Yes I did and no, they don't want to kill you." Hearing this, Severus sighs in relief. "Altough~, daddy did say something about taking out the pitchfork and showing it up a certain hole." The nervous expression returns which causes Rachael and Chloe to giggle in amusement.

"You're the worst" groaned Severus while pressing his face into Rachael's long blue hair which shifts to pink.

Rachael giggles. "I know but you love me for it."

Severus groans in Rachael's hair but hides his smile in the threshes of her hair.

 _"I do."_

 **( Hogwarts - Gryffindor Common Room )**

Sirius, Remus and Peter can be found by the fireplace in their common room with Peter and Sirius playing Exploding Snap while Remus is reading the Defense Against the Dark Arts book. Their attention is taken when they see the final Marauder walk in with a troubled expression. James falls on the comfortable couch and sighs dramatically.

Sirius smirks, finding his best friend's situation very amusing. "I take it Lily rejected your invitation to Hogsmeade next week?" From the clear downcast aura around the Potter heir, the answer is pretty obvious but he always does enjoy a good rise out of James.

James glares at Sirius who wiggles his eyebrows. "What of it? I've still got a week for her to agree to go out with me."

Sirius clicks his fingers, getting Peter's attention because he knows what that signal usually means. Reaching into his school bag, Peter pulls out a small notebook which catches James curiosity, while Remus hides his snickering from behind his book. Peter pulls out a quill and writes into the notebook. "So Peter, what does that make up?"

Peter looks down at the notebook and counts. "One hundred and fifty seven."

James narrows his eyes suspciously at his two fellow Marauders. "What's up with the book?"

"What? This one?" asked Sirius, playfully while taking the notebook out of Peter's hands. "It's just a little list the rest of us Marauders have been making up since first year. Nothing suspicious at all."

James snatches the book away and reads the contents which is mostly a date with a number beside it. It's the title of the first page that angers James. It reads, "James Rejections by Lily". The Potter heir glares at his friends in outrage. "You actually kept a journal on how many times Lily rejected me? The hell is wrong with you guys!? That's just lousy."

Remus raises a brow, aiming it at James. "It's not like you're any different."

James turns to Remus, unsure to what he means. "What makes ya say that Moony? I don't keep embarrassing journals about either of ye, not yet anyway" he finished while playfully glaring at Peter and Sirius.

"Haven't you noticed anything different about Lily. Anything at all?" From James's clueless expression, he guesses not. _"And you state you're in love with her"_ thought Remus in disappointment with his friend. "She has been in a bit of a mood all through the year. Mary and Alice say she's acting a bit off as well and I don't think you continuously asking her out is going to make things any better."

James tilts his head. "Really? I didn't notice anything different about her."

 _"Of course you didn't."_

"Just give her some space to get over whatever is bothering her. After that, you can go and get rejected by her all you want." James tackles Remus and playfully fights the Werewolf while Sirius and Peter laugh out loud on the couch while taking a few breathes to cheer the two on.

 **xXx**

At a table in the library, Lily is sitting on her own with almost a dozen crumpled pieces of paper around herself. She only adds to the pile after crunching up another piece of paper she was just writing on. James had come half an hour ago and was trying to distract her again. She was going to ignore him but his relentless need for her attention was starting to annoy her greatly. It took a silent glare for him to finally get the message and he left her in peace to finish what she's doing.

Only to find out soon enough that it isn't as easy as she thought it would.

Lily writes a few letters on a another piece of paper but crumples it like the many others and groans in frustration while feeling the need to pull at her hair. She never did have any problems writing a letter before but today, nothing seems to work in her head. Everything she has written sounds almost too condescending when she thinks about it in her head. Her concentration is worse now that James ruined her frame of mind.

Sighing, she takes out another clean piece of paper and dips her quill into her almost empty ink bottle and gets back into writing her letter.

 _Dear Sev..._

Page 14 of 14


	6. Meeting the Family

**Enjoy.**

 **xXx**

 **( 19 December 1976 - Manchester )**

"So, this is it" murmured Severus as he stands outside the gates of the Prince Manor.

With everyone off for the Christmas holidays, he thought it to be appropriate to check out his mother's childhood home. Having already made a date on when to visit Rachael and her family, he floo'd back to Britain and took an intersecting floo to arrive in Manchester, the birth place of the Prince's. The rest of the way was spent in a taxi as it drove him to the countryside where the Prince manor stayed.

The manor is massive, having five story's in total and that's if he's counting them correctly. From what he can tell by looking, the material making up the large building seems to be limestone that has been skillfully crafted by whatever architects constructed the ancient but impressive manor. Leading up to the manor is a straight and smooth path that starts from the large gate with two tall hedges trailing at each side of it throughout the way. With how even the hedges have been cut, Severus concludes that the Prince House Elves are still taking care of the manor, even without the instructions of a Prince.

The path leading to the manor has to go around a large fountain in front of the Prince Manor but he can't see it from the distance between it and the locked gate.

Taking a step back, Severus looks at his left hand where the violet Prince family ring lies on his ring finger. One of the many items he received upon becoming the heir of the Prince fortune. The ring is made up of a mixture of gold and platinum which is covered in small jewels that range from sapphires, amethysts and emeralds. In the centre of the ring is the symbol of the Prince family, a sure sign to everyone that he is the heir of one of the most powerful and wealithiest families in Britain. He doesn't care for how flashy it looks but can agree that the small piece of jewellery is probably worth quite a fortune.

Looking up at the locked gate, Severus sees the Prince symbol in the centre. Looking down at his ring and back at the gate, he presses the ring against the symbol. The symbol on the gate glows a bright blue as it recognizes the signature of the Prince ring.

Severus takes a step back and marvels over how the gate slowly opens itself, allowing him entry to the Prince manor. Almost reluctantly, he steps forwards and slowly walks towards the manor, ignoring how the gate closes right behind him.

Severus soon figures out that it takes around ten minutes for him to make it to the fountain the gate. It's some serious distance just so he can walk through the front door.

He marvels over the intricate design of the fountain, liking how it is designed as a mermaid resting on a boulder while lifting a jar over her head. Pure clean water spills out of said jar and into the small pool which surrounds the rock and mermaid. His sharp eyes take note of how well the mermaid was designed, noting the perfection of the scales on the mermaid's tale and the beauty of her face. It's almost like he's looking at a real live mermaid. Although, he doesn't see why the eyes have to be made up of emeralds.

Spending enough of his time enjoying the clearly expensive artwork, Severus walks up the steps to the double doors which make up the entrance of the Prince Manor. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushes open the door, preparing himself for whatever he might see at the other side.

He honestly didn't expect to see a massive tree in the middle of the hallway.

"What the bloody hell?" he said to himself as he looks up at the massive tree which is almost touching the tall ceiling. The tree is clearly bigger than most should be and has been designed with Christmas decorations of baubles, Santa ornaments and tinsel. It is situated right between the circular staircase, the perfect place since he can still get to either side of the stairs without disturbing the tree.

"C-Could it r-really be?"

Turning to the voice, Severus sees a House Elf with a cardboard box full of Christmas decorations. It doesn't seem to matter to the House Elf because it immediately drops it so it can hug him by his legs. "Woah!" he cried, having been caught off guard by the sudden affection.

"Jinx is so happy! Another Prince has come home!" cried the House Elf as she tightens her hold around Severus's legs, making it difficult for the teen to keep his balance.

Severus wobbles in place while the cHouse Elf cries into his legs. "Will ya let go of me! I'm gonna fall."

Jinx seems to realize what she's doing and jumps back with a startled yelp. "Jinx is so sorry! Jinx is just so h-happy" she said as she wipes away a tear.

Severus releases a breath and straightens his white shirt as he takes in the sight of the House Elf. From the voice of it, he can tell that it's female but what really catches his attention is the clean blue and green robes it's wearing and the Prince symbol that is etched into the right shoulder of it. The only other House Elves he has seen are Mulciber's and they only wear dirty and drag robes so it's a bit odd to see a House Elf wearing such beautiful robes. "Jinx, isn't it?"

Jinx wipes her nose with a sniff. "Yes, master. Jinx is the Head House Elf for the Prince family, at your service" said the House Elf with a bow of her head, sounding quite proud of her position.

"How many House Elves are there?" asked Severus as he looks around but doesn't see any other House Elf.

"The Prince family has over a hundred House Elves at their disposal. Would you want me to call them, master?"

 _"Over a hundred?! Why do they need so many House Elves?"_ wondered Severus as his eyes widen over the thought of so many House Elves at his disposal. What is he suppose to do with so many House Elves? "Not now. I'll introduce myself to them later." One House Elf hugging him is bad enough but a small army will most likely kill him!

"Of course, master." Jinx tilts her head to the side as she looks at Severus. "I-If master doesn't mind, can Jinx ask a question?"

Severus blinks down at the nervous House Elf but nods. He has never heard of House Elves asking for anything before.

"Are you perhaps the son of mistress Eileen?" asked Jinx as her pointy ears fidget.

"You knew my mother?" Severus can't help but ask.

"So it is true!" cried Jinx as she jumps up and down on her spot in excitement. "Jinx used to be mistress Eileen's House Elf before she was disowned from the family. She treated us House Elves well." The House Elf stops its jumping before a sad frown drops across her face and her ears flatten on the top of her head. "It was a sad day for us all when mistress Eileen was banished."

"How did you know I was my mother's son?"

"Your eyes" she said, pointing at Severus's black eyes. "You have the same eyes as mistress Eileen."

Severus agrees with a nod, knowing that as well as his dark hair, he has gotten his mother's eyes. He can admire how the House Elf makes the connection just by recognizing his eyes. "So, you would know much about my mum?"

"Know? Jinx basically raised her when she was nothing but a short stout" said Jinx with the largest grin Severus has ever seen on someone or rather, a House Elf of all things. Pride fills Severus's chest over hearing how his mother treated the House Elves "Would master like me to tell you stories of mistress Eileen?"

Severus smiles over the thought of hearing about his mother as a child. To hear about what she did when she was his age. To hear about all of her exploits when in Hogwarts and what she did best in. He does remember a faint memory of his childhood when his mother mentioned to him about how she was a master of Gobstones, having beaten everyone who challenged her. It's a shame that she never got around to teaching him on how to play. "Not now but maybe later."

"Of course. Is there anything that Jinx can do for you?" she asked with a bow.

"Can you show me around the manor? Since I own it, I want to at least get a good layout of it" replied Severus as he looks around to enjoy the beauty of the manor's interior.

"Of course! If master would follow me" beckoned the House Elf as she leads the former Slytherin to the stairs.

The next two hours is spent with Severus following the House Elf around the Prince Manor as she shows him what it has in store. It turns out that the Princes had taken to different practices throughout the generations because several rooms have been specifically designed for the practice of Charms, Transfiguration and Dueling. There's even a Potion's lab which he determines to have a proper look whenever he gets the chance.

All of that doesn't include the two dozen bedrooms of various sizes and designs, alongside the nine bathrooms which include the private one in the main chamber's. Lining the walls of hallways is intricately designed bronze wallpaper which blends in quite well with the soft, red carpet. While it probably did cost a pretty knut, the price of it all hardly matches up anywhere near to the total of artwork. Priceless paintings hang off the walls in almost every room and hallway while statues and marble creations lay on pedestals.

Severus has made sure to tell Jinx which piece of artwork to throw into his vault. They might be expensive beyond belief but quite a few of them aren't what he calls 'homey'. He is sure that Gold-Knut will be delighted to sell off a few of the priceless artwork, seeing as he gets a percentage of the profit.

"And this is the main lounge room. This is where master Apollo and mistress Bridgette spent most of their time" said Jinx as she brings Severus into a wide and open room which has a mixture of green and blue colours. Soft and comfortable furniture lay in front of a fireplace at one side of the room while several bookcases line the walls of the room. Hanging overhead in the centre of the ceiling is a large chandelier with many diamonds decorating the crystal ornament.

"Well now, who is this?"

Severus feels himself nearly jump out of his skin before he turns around and aims his wand at the direction of the voice. Instead, he finds himself staring at the raging fireplace.

"Haha! Up here, my boy."

A glance over the fireplace has Severus see a tall and wide portrait of a couple who are looking down at him with amused smirks on their faces.

The male of the two is rather tall, reaching almost seven feet if his quick measurement calculations are correct. He's also quite thin but has sharp features across his face, making him attractive in an almost feminine manner but there's also a regal look to him which expresses a need for attention and respect. His eyes are of a dark shade of blue which holds wisdom of a man who has seen much. He adorns a completely black set of robes that seem to suck away all signs of light within them, creating an intimidating image of the man when it is added to his height. Whatever hair he has is short since it reaches just above his ears and is pure black in colour. It's very similar to his own now that he thinks about it.

The second person in the portrait is a female who looks to be in her mid to late thirties. Her long hair is dark brown in colour and rolls down the back of her head with curls at the tips. He has to admit that she does looks beautiful, in a mature manner anyway. She adorns a long emerald-coloured dress which reaches all the way down to the bottom of her feet. If the length of the dress is annoying, she isn't showing it.

Jinx bows to the pair in the portrait. "Master Apollo. Mistress Bridgette."

 _"Apollo? Bridgette? Then that means that these two are my... grandparents"_ thought Severus as he looks up at the pair. It's obvious that they planned for the portrait to be painted when they were younger, hence the lack of wrinkles. It's just odd that he is looking at the two who are not only his family on his Pureblood side but are the ones who also disowned their own daughter after she married a Muggle.

"Jinx, be a dear and bring the boy a cup of tea. He looks famished" said Apollo.

"Of course, master" replied Jinx before she disappears with a loud crack which signals her use of Apparition.

Silence fills the room as Severus struggles to keep eye contact with the pair who abandoned their daughter and in theory, himself. Portrait or not, they still hold their memories of their lives so they are quite literally the very same people.

"You really do look like Eileen" muttered Bridgette but loud enough for Severus to hear. Her eyes look lost, as if she's seeing something that he can't.

Apollo chuckles, lowly as he wraps an arm around his wife's shoulders. "He does, doesn't he? He has your eyes and my hair. A good combination if I say so myself."

Severus feels the uneasiness in his body grow as he scratches his left arm to get rid of the itch that isn't there. What can he actually say to the grandparents who he has never once met in his entire life?

"Come on! You meet your grandparents for the first time and you got nothing to say to us?" asked Apollo with a raised brow.

Bridgette slaps her husband's arm. "Be nice, Apollo. He's clearly taking everything in slowly. Don't rush him."

"Can we get a name at least?" asked Apollo as he and his wife gaze down at Severus with hopeful expressions.

"Severus" he said, giving up his name under the powerful gaze of his grandparents. They may be portraits but they can be unnerving if they stare long enough. He must get that from them.

"Severus Prince" muttered Apollo as he tests the name out on his tongue. "I like it. A dignified and strong name."

As much as Severus wants to simply turn around and leave, there's a question in the back of his head that has been annoying him for a while and the two in the portrait are the perfect people to ask. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you disown my mother?"

The question actually catches his grandparents off guard as they flinch like as if they just got struck. Apollo closes his eyes and his lips flatten into a straight line while Bridgette stares down at the bottom of her dress with clear distraught, crunching up the fabric with her hands.

"Disowning your mother... was the worst decision that I have ever done in my long life" admitted Apollo after he opens his eyes to stare into Severus's own.

"The worst decision that **we've** done. I am at fault, as well" spoke Bridgette as she too looks up to see her grandson. A grandson she has never met in her eighty-nine years of life. She spent so many years with her husband on trying to have a child and after many failed attempts, she finally ended up pregnant with Eileen. Only to waste it away in the end by making the worst decision in her entire life. Not only did she lose her daughter, she lost any chance she had to meet her grandchild. A mistake that haunts her portrait, even to this day.

"But why? Why did you disown her in the first place?" asked Severus, wanting the truth of the story. If his grandparents are going to hang around at the major, he wants to at least know the truth about it. If he doesn't like it, he can always just throw the portrait away into the vault and forget that it ever existed.

"Back when your mother was around your age, we were offered a marriage proposal by the Malfoys. A marriage between your mother and a close relative to the Malfoys" said Bridgette.

"At the time, we didn't think about Eileen and what she wanted. We only saw the chance to make the Prince name stronger by joining with the Malfoy family. We agreed to the marriage" told Apollo with obvious regret.

"And mother didn't agree with your decision" Severus wisely noted. He wouldn't be happy either if someone else decided on who he would marry. He can also imagine on what his mother did afterwards.

Apollo shakes his head. "She did not. She made sure to tell us about her misgivings but we didn't listen. Upon hearing that she was refusing the marriage proposal, we decided on a punishment that we regret even to this day."

"We disowned her. It was immature of us to even make such a decision but we were angry with her and at the time, we found it to be a fitting punishment" said Bridgette who holds back a sob.

"By the time we got our act together, it was too late. Eileen was gone and we had no means to track her." Apollo hugs his wife closer to ease some of the distress from her. It won't be enough to rid them of the guilt and shame but every bit of comfort helps

"It wasn't until a few years ago that we saw another name on the Prince family tree" said Apollo as he smiles sadly at his grandson. "A Severus Prince."

"Even with the knowledge of your birth, we still didn't have any way to find you so all we could do was wait and pray that you'd come to us" sobbed Bridgette.

"As you can tell, that never came to pass" sighed Apollo as he waves his free arm to address the portrait that he and his wife are in. "Ten years later and we figured that you and Eileen would never return. So we decided that if we couldn't meet you in person, we could at least give you what was rightfully yours."

"The inheritance" muttered Severus in which Apollo nods.

"Yes. It doesn't make up for the birthdays we've missed but we hope that it's enough."

 _"So it wasn't because mum married a Muggle. It's because she refused to marry a Malfoy"_ thought Severus, slightly happy that the whole ordeal is a mistake on his grandparents part. Although, it gives him little insurance since the result cost his mother to live a loveless marriage with an alcoholic and abusive husband. It was no wonder that they couldn't find her, not when Tobias snapped her wand and forced her to live in the Muggle world.

"We don't deserve forgiveness. We understand this" said Bridgette as she bows her head in shame to Severus. "We just hope that we can at least get to know our grandson. It won't make up for the years we have missed in your life but we wish to make up for them all. Even if we're simply portraits of the original."

Severus glances to his right as Jinx appears with a tray of hot tea and digestive biscuits. Turning back to his grandparents, he slowly nods with the edges of his lips twitching upwards ever so slightly. "I'd like that."

 **xXx**

"W-What?" stuttered Lily as she stares at her parents with shock all over her face. Not even an hour home from Hogwarts and her Christmas holidays seem to be going down a spiral. "What do you mean that he's gone? Where did he go?!"

Sitting at the kitchen table with his daughter sitting across from himself, Harry Evans sighs in disappointment before he takes a sip of his tea. "So you don't know where he is either. We were actually hoping that you knew where he was."

 _"No wonder I couldn't send my letter to him. He doesn't live in the same address anymore"_ she thought, remembering how she sent a Hogwarts owl with her finished letter, only for it to return by dinner time with the same letter in its beak. She simply thought that there was something wrong with the owl.

"But he can't simply be gone! Where would he go? Where would he live?" asked Lily. For as long as she has known Severus, he has never once mentioned any other relatives other than his parents and whenever she brought the subject up, he would always get into a foul mood and change the subject. It isn't like he has much money to his name in the fire place, knowing all too about his life in poverty.

Lily's mother steps behind her husband and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We were actually hoping for you to know where he is or at least have a clue on his whereabouts."

 _"For me to know? How could I possibly know where he is?"_

"Did you not see him in Hogwarts? I'm sure even if the two of you are still fighting, he's in at least one of your classes, no?" asked Mrs. Evans.

Lily tenses up while remembering the lack of the Slytherin in all of her classes, as well as Regulus threatening her for the location of her former friend. By all accounts, Severus Snape has vanished into thin air. However, there's nothing to worry about, is there? The Professors don't seem too worried over his whereabouts so why should she? Besides, they aren't friends anymore.

Lily shakes her head before she stares down at the table so she can't look at her parents eyes. They may believe that they're just having a friendly little spat between one another but Lily knows that she can't be friends with Severus again. At least, not like how they use to be. Her parents hace always had a soft spot for Severus. Even Petunia but shentriesnto hide it through her mean facade. "I don't think Severus goes to Hogwarts anymore."

"Excuse me?" asked Harry who waits patiently for his daughter to answer. The fact that the tea cup in his hand cracks isn't missed by either Lily or his wife.

"I... haven't seen much of him since the start of the year. He never shows up for the classes either so it's probably possible that he... left" Lily answered. It's the obvious conclusion but she doesn't see why he has to suddenly disappear from the world.

 _"Probably gone to join the Dark Lord's army."_ She tries to ignore the traitorous thought but she can't help but remember all of her friends warnings about Severus's obsession with Dark Magic, nor his close relationship with the likes of Mulciber, Avery and Regulus. The thought becomes solid when she remembers how he called her Mudblood by the Black Lake. He knows exactly how much she hates that word and for him to call her such is an obvious ssign that they can no longer be friends. Not when they are clearly at the opposite sides of the upcoming war.

"And none of his other friends don't know where he is?" asked a worried Harry.

 _"You mean the friends who would rather see me dead?"_ Lily ignores her disturbing thoughts. "They don't know where he is either."

"What about the teachers? Wouldn't they notice one of their students missing?" asked Mrs. Evans in clear disappointment.

"The Professors haven't said anything about Severus. They probably already know about what happened to him" answered Lily. He must have dropped off a letter of sorts to the Hogwarts faculty before leaving. If not, the Professors would search for him and tell the Ministry of Magic about his sudden disappearance.

She can tell that her answers aren't what he parents are looking for as they look at each other with worry. While it hurts for them to be frightened over Severus, she knows that it's for the best that they forget about him, even though she can't tell them that or they'd get the wrong impression about her. It's simply better to forget about Severus because soon enough, he will be on the side of the Dark Lord. The side which wants to death of every Muggleborn in the world, including herself. In the end, it will only lead to heartbreak for her parents.

 _"Maybe I shouldn't give him the letter"_ she thought while biting her lip.

"Well.. keep an eye and ear open for him, won't ya? Severus has nobody else out there for him" said Mrs. Evans. Lily nods only to at least appease her mother.

At the same time, Harry perks up over remembering something. "Speaking of keeping an eye and ear open, could you look out for the name, Prince."

"Prince?" Lily repeated, thinking if she has heard of that name before. Not recalling it from anywhere, she looks at her father with a questioning gaze. "What's that name about?"

"When I asked the movers for who sold the Snape's old house, it was by someone named Severus Prince."

"Severus Prince? Is that a relative of our Severus?" Lily asked, feeling a bit curious over the little mystery. It could be someone who Severus was named after. Maybe a friend of the family or an uncle of sorts?

Harry shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know but I at least hope so. It might explain where Severus has disappeared to."

"You'll look out for him, won't you?" asked Mrs. Evans as she awaits for her daughter's response, expectantly.

Lily smiles, slightly and nods. "Of course I will" she said, ignoring the bitter taste on her tongue when she replies. When her mother smiles so bright that it threatens to blind her, the bitterness only grows in taste.

 **( 20 December 1976 - Malfoy Manor )**

Mulciber and Avery nervously fidget on the couch as they stare into the back of Lucius Malfoy who is looking into the burning fireplace with his hands behind his back. They don't have to see his face to know that he is pissed off about their news.

They understood that they couldn't ignore the situation about Snape's disappearance any longer and came to the conclusion that more than one of them should go to Lucius. Less chance of him killing them off if there's more than one of them.

"So, let me get this straight." Lucius turns around to face the two and flinch upon seeing the burning anger across his face. "Not only did Snape disappear from Hogwarts but you have exactly **no idea where he is!"** he yelled, causing the two Slytherins to sink deeper into the cushions of the couch, if only to lessen the distance between them and the Malfoy.

"W-We didn't know until the start of the school year" confessed Avery as he tries his best to hold eye contact with the furious Malfoy. "It isn't like were good chums with him or anything. We aren't even sure if he arrived at Hogwarts at all."

Lucius scoffs at the snivelling pair. "Make all the excuses you want, the Dark Lord will hear none of them."

Avery's and Mulciber's skin turns a pale white over the thought of angering the Dark Lord. Everyone knows that if one is to anger him, it's pretty much a long and painful death sentence.

Lucius quirks a blonde brow as he watches the pair shake and sweat in fear. "Oh, didn't you hear? Our Dark Lord has shown quite an interest into Snape's skills in Potions. He has always wanted a Potion's Master in his ranks and Snape was the obvious candidate for the position but seeing as you two have ruined any chance of that, he is going to end up quite disappointed, won't he?" A sense of glee fills the Malfoy as he watches the pair shake in a manner one would when having a stroke.

Lucius turns away to glare into the fireplace. "You two are lucky that we need Snape for his Potion skills. If not, I'd send you to the Dark Lord's feet and watch as he kills you both, slowly." He looks over his shoulders and glares at the shaking Slytherins. "You're still here? Get out!"

The pair didn't have to be told twice and quickly move to run out of the Malfoy Manor.

Lucius rubs his brow to ease to incoming headache. "Snape, you better be worth this much trouble."

 **( Ireland - Tipperary - Newport )**

Severus swallows as he nervously stands outside the door of Rachael's home.

After a few hours of getting to know his deceased grandparents, Severus had spent most of his time on learning everything there is to know about the Prince line. Turns out that he has some serious boots to fill, if not because of the Prince's natural art of running a business. His grandfather was actually an important figure in the trading business of England, being responsible for the importation of spices, jewellery and other luxuries.

Upon his death, the business collapsed without his leadership. Severus couldn't believe that it took a measly few months for the business to collapse on itself. Goes to show how impressive Apollo Prince was in his prime.

Thankfully, his parents gave him a bit of advice on his dinner with Rachael and her family. If it wasn't for them, he probably wouldn't have thought to bring flowers.

Rachael's house isn't anything to be impressed about, being nothing more than an average bungalow with a small garden out front but with a large enough one behind it. Nothing too extravagant but is perfect for a family who's living in the countryside of England's neighbour. The house itself is painted white while the window panes are a light shade of brown. While he tries to ignore it, the silver Honda Accord that is parked in the driveway is catching his eye. While he isn't one to care for Muggle transportation, he can tell that it must have cost a pretty penny for the car, since it looks to be brand new and a better brand than others he has seen.

Standing outside the front door with a bouquet of Alstroemeria, he can't help but feel like a daft cliche from one of Lily's romantic movies.

Unfortunately, before he can get straighten himself together, the door opens. Standing in front of him is a man who's shorter than himself by a few feet but makes up for it with the massive muscles adorning his arms, barely hidden underneath the white cotton shirt he has on. In contrast, Severus looks like a toothpick when compared to the man. His hair is a dark brown with a mixture of gray hair to signal to coming of his age.

Before he can open his mouth to speak, the man grabs him by his black blazer and pulls himself through the doorway. "Come in, already! You're stiff enough for the both of us."

"Dad!"

"Am I wrong?" laughed the man as he drags Severus into the house before closing the door behind him.

It takes a bit for Severus to not snap out at the man for touching him, if only because he is Rachael's father. He isn't experienced in his current situation but he can figure out that snapping at his girlfriend's father may not be the best way to get their approval.

"You're so embarrassing!" cried out Rachael as she walks into the small hallway with a dark pink top and light blue jeans on. Her long hair glows an embarrassing bright pink, contradicting against every other bit of colour on her body. "Come on, Sev. I'll take ya to the kitchen" she insisted while dragging the former Slytherin by his arm and glaring at her sheepish father from over her shoulder.

"But I didn't threaten him with my pitchfork yet!"

"I already told him" remarked Rachael as she brings Severus into the room which makes up the dining room. In the centre of the room is a rectangular wooden table with six chairs. The table is draped in a gold and red tablecloth with silver cutlery sitting beside the plates.

Severus gives Rachael a deadpan stare and she shrugs, knowing that he doesn't exactly like the colours of Gryffindor. She doesn't exactly like them either but her mother adores the colours so there isn't much she can do about it.

"Are you sure?" Rachael's dad asked as he pokes his head out of the doorway. "I already brought it in." As he says, he lifts his arm up to show his pitchfork, causing Severus to reel back from the item and the man holding it.

"Mom!"

"Patrick, can you not act your age until Rachael's boyfriend is gone?"

A woman walks by the doorway and slaps the back of Rachael's father's head before she turns to Severus and smiles in a way too similar to Mrs. Evans. "Hello, dear. You must be Severus. Rachael has told us an awful lot about you from her letters."

Looking at the woman in front of him, Severus understands where Rachael gets her looks from or rather, her morphing abilities. Even now, her hair is changing from black and short to long and yellow. Being polite, he offers a hand which she accepts and kisses the back of it in a noble manner. "It is a treat to meet Rachael's mother."

"Likewise" she smiled. "But please, call me Margaret."

Severus nods his head in agreement. "Of course, Margaret."

Margaret claps her hands together with a bright smile, along with her hair changing into a light shade of green to follow her good mood. "Excellent! How about some dinner? Not to brag but I make the best Donegol stew in all of Ireland."

"Don't know, mum. Sounds an awful lot like bragging to me" smirked Rachael as she back steps to avoid her mother's playful slap.

"Oh, shush now. Patrick, can you check to see if the stew is ready?" Margaret asked her husband.

"I'll check" replied Patrick as he walks over to the stove in the kitchen to see how the pot of stew is going. He lifts up the lid of it and checks the status of the stew. "Looks ready to me."

Margaret nods with a smile. "Good. Can you two take a seat and we'll get everything set."

"Do you want any help?" Severus asked, being as polite as possible.

"No need. I've got everything sorted" Margaret waved him off before she pulls her wand from the pocket of her apron. "Wingardium Leviosa" she chanted with a wave of her wand. The pile of plates on the kitchen counter float up in the air and fly into the dining room and onto the table while planting themselves in front of four places on the table.

A few minutes later and the four are now sitting by the kitchen table with Severus sitting alongside Rachael and her parents sitting across from them.

 _"This stew is good"_ thought Severus as he enjoys the mixture of salt, potatoes and meat. He makes a note to ask Rachael's mother on where she got the delectable meat because the tenderness works very well with the salt in the stew.

Wanting to know more about the boy dating her daughter, Margaret starts off with the conversation. "So Severus, where are you from?" she asked with a motherly smile. With the question asked, Rachael and Patrick look up at Severus to hear his answer.

"England, born and raised."

"Really? From what I've heard, England has become quite tense lately." Margaret shakes her head. "A shame too. With Death Eaters and this new Dark Lord walking about, I doubt that it has been easy going for you."

 _"You've got no idea"_ thought Severus, trying to avoid the thoughts of the Marauders, Avery, Lily, Dumbledore and the Dark Lord. "It hasn't been the easiest but I've managed. I'm hoping for everything to blow over soon enough" replied Severus as he takes a sip of his stew so he can dull the taste of bile in his mouth.

Beside him, Rachael pats Severus on the back of his hand in a show of comfort. Severus lightly smiles and nods but not in the direction of Rachael.

Subtle hints but Patrick doesn't miss them. When one works as a farmer for over twenty years like he has, they learn to pick up on the smallest of signs, wither it being the condition of his tractor, the time growth of his crops or the current weather conditions. Deciding to change the clearly sensitive subject, Patrick coughs into his fist. "English, huh? Support any teams?"

Severus shakes his head, making his black locks flair in the air. "Sorry, I don't care much for sports, Magical or otherwise."

Patrick sighs in disappointment but chuckles a second later. "Aw well, as long as you don't support Liverpool, I'll have no trouble with ya."

Severus takes a minute alone with his thoughts before asking a curious question of his. "I'm sorry to ask this but are you perhaps a Muggle?" He can't recall any Wizard or Witch who has shown any interest in Muggle sports unless they are Muggleborn.

"What tipped it away? Was it because I wasn't flying around on one of your brooms?" asked the farmer with a smirk. "Nah. The only Magical things in my life are my wonderful daughter and my beautiful wife" he sighed, dramatically with both hands on his heart. Rachael blows a raspberry over towards her weird dad and Margaret giggles and pats her carefree husband on his head.

 _"That means that Rachael is a Half-blood like me."_ For some reason, the thought brings a warm feeling in Severus's chest, knowing that Rachael is a lot like him in more ways then one.

"Blood status means nothing in Ireland. Probably why our government works better than Britain's" quipped Rachael, taking a bite of a boiled carrot from her stew.

"Rachael!"

"What? It's true, isn't it?" Rachael remarked, as if to challenge her mother to prove her wrong.

"She isn't wrong" Severus sighed. With the British Ministry of Magic doing a poor job of maintaining the Death Eater threat and the further disappearances and deaths of Muggles and Muggleborns, England isn't exactly the safest country to be living in, no matter how they may present themselves to be.

"See. Sev agrees with me."

"Sev?" asked Patrick with a playful smirk as he enjoys the slowly growing fear in her daughter's eyes. "Nicknames already? Please, do tell when this happened."

As Rachael scrambles up her defence and Margaret giggles into her hand, Severus can only smile, happy that the not so pleasant subject has been dropped.

 **xXx**

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" asked Margaret while her hair grows short with a soft shade of orange decorating it. "We have a spare bedroom and it will be no trouble at all."

"No trouble at all" growled Patrick in a threatening but playful way. He even shakes his fist towards Severus with a playful smirk on his face.

Severus smiles but shakes his head to reject the invitation. "Thanks but no thanks. I have a lot to do at the moment and the House Elves are excited on celebrating the holidays with me. Thank you for the dinner, though. It was wonderful."

Margaret smiles and brings Severus into a hug, catching the teen off guard. "You're welcome. Remember to come back anytime. I can make more than a great stew."

Severus smiles and nods while stepping back. "Thank you. I'll have to take you up on your offer."

"Don't worry. I'll convert you to the joys of soccer soon enough" joked Patrick as he shakes hands with the Prince.

"I highly doubt that" snipped Severus with his own smirk. He has come to enjoy the man's company for he has a relatable sense of humour. The man has made him laugh a few times during dinner so that's an achievement altogether.

"I guess I'll see ya back at Oliver Gardens then, Sev" said Rachael before she hugs her boyfriend. With her parents watching ever so closely, all she can offer him as a goodbye present would be a kiss on the cheek. The pink on his cheeks show her that it's enough. "Merry Christmas."

Severus smiles before he takes a step back. On his left hand, the Prince ring glows, indicating the activation of the Port Key Enchantment on it. "Merry Christmas." With his goodbyes in order, Severus vanishes upon the activation of his Port Key.

When Severus vanishes from sight, Rachael sighs.

This act isn't missed by her mother. "Miss him already?" Even when her daughter denies, Margaret giggles while enjoying her daughter's attempts on denying her accusation but the fact that her hair and skin are glowing a neon pink shows her real feelings.

 **( Manchester - Prince Manor )**

A second later and Severus disappears and reappears back in front of the Prince Manor. He honestly didn't expect to have such a good time but Rachael's father proved himself to be comedic and her mother was nothing less than generous. Having experienced the day with the small but happy family he can't deny how the image reminded him a lot like the times when he would visit Lily at her own home with her own family.

They all gave off the image of a perfect family.

 _"A shame mine was mowhere near perfect"_ he thought while doing his best to ignore the growing pit in his stomach and the memories of his time spent in his childhood home. To ignore how his father would return home drunk with all his earnings spent on alcohol. To ignore how his mother, once a proud Pureblood Witch, had fallen into a broken state which eventually led to her untimely death.

In silence, Severus walks through the gates and walks down the long road towards his large manor.

Page 17 of 17


	7. Animagus

**Enjoy.**

 **xXx**

 **( 25 December 1976 - Prince Manor )**

Severus groans in his sleep when the curtains to the Master bedroom open to allow the sunlight from outside to shine across his face. Very reluctantly, he blinks his eyes open to see Jinx smiling at him from beside the bed with a tray in her hands.

"Wakey, wakey, master. It's a bright day and Jinx has made breakfast for you" sang the House Elf with the cheerfulness that usually does not belong with her kind. "Merry Christmas!"

As much as he wants to snap at the House Elf and go back to sleep, he can't find himself cruel enough to do so. Jinx has been kind to him the very moment he arrived at the manor and he can't bring himself to put the happy House Elf's mood down.

"Thank you, Jinx. Merry Christmas to you too" he yawned as he pushes himself up so he can lean against the headboard. Jinx floats the tray onto Severus's lap before she starts to clean up the bedroom.

"Master Apollo and Bridgette have asked me to bring you to the lounge room."

"Thank you, Jinx" Severus nodded with a smile. Technically, his grandparents shouldn't have any right to order around the House Elves but it turns out that they are quite liked by their servants, even in death.

After finishing his breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages, Severus gets dress in a simple emerald shirt and his blue and white striped pajama bottoms before walking down to the lounge room. Going down the spiral staircase, he notices a few presents lying at the bottom of the large Christmas tree. "Who are these for?" Severus asked a nearby House Elf who's name escapes him. With the manor having exactly one hundred and twelve House Elves, he suspects that it will take a while for him to learn all of their names.

"Those gifts are for yourself, Master Prince. Sent by owls early this morning."

Severus raises a brow and turns back to the presents. "Really?" he asked in curiosity. The only presents he ever got on the holidays were from Lily and her family and he's positive that they don't know that he is back in England. He walks to the small pile of presents and checks the labels to see who they are from.

"Ezekiel, Amy, Chloe, Rachael, Michael, Takashi, Jeffrey and Lucy" he read out. For each name, his smile brightens ever so slightly. Not just for the fact that he got presents but for the hidden meaning behind them. Each present signifies that he actually has people that care for him. For once, it feels pretty good.

After deciding to open them when he finishes his business with his grandparents, Severus makes his way to the lounge room to see what they need from him. Opening the double doors, he walks into the room to see his smiling grandparents from their portrait over the fireplace.

"Severus! I was wondering if you would ever get up" said Apollo with a smirk.

"It's eight in the morning" Severus answered with a deadpan expression.

"Eight!? In my day, you'd be up by six. Imagine all the work you could have missed out on!"

"Ignore your grandfather. He gets excited whenever Christmas comes around" giggled Bridgette.

"Jiinx said you wanted to talk with me?"

"That's right" answered Apollo before pointing a hand to the direction of the small cupboard by the wall. "There's a box on the cupboard. I want you to open it."

Seeing no reason to question him, Severus walks to the cupboard and opens it. Other than a vase and a few trinkets, there is a small box in the cupboard. He picks up the box that is small enough to be hidden in his grip. Returning to the front of fireplace, he scans the small box. "What's this?"

"Open it and find out" beckoned Bridgette.

Not seeing no reason not to, Severus opens the top of the box which reveals the last thing he expected. "What's this?" he asked again with a bit more worry in his tone.

"What do you think it is?" asked an amused Apollo.

"I think that it's two wedding rings but I'm sure it's just my eyes playing tricks with me." As true a fact, in the small box are two silver wedding rings which both have intricate designs of a snake with its mouth open to show off a flawless emerald inside of it.

"They aren't just any rings, my boy" smiled Apollo as he looks at the two small pieces of jewelry with a reminiscent smile. "Those rings are the Prince's most prized possession. Crafted by our family's founder a thousand years ago, they have since passed on from generation to generation of Prince ancestors through marriage. There's an old rumor about the rings that explain that whichever two who marry using those rings arensaid to be blessed with happiness till death do they part. I'm not too sure if the rumor is true or not but it seems to have worked with me." He chuckles when Bridgette playfully slaps him on the chest with a smile of her own to match his.

"Think of it as our Christmas present to you and whichever woman who's lucky enough to catch your attention" said Bridgette before she throws Severus a coy wink. "Maybe a certain Metamorphmagus perhaps?"

Severus looks down at the rings in his hand so he can hide his blush under his hair. "A bit soon to ask for marriage, don't you think?"

"Damn right it is. Don't make the same mistake of others and marry _too_ soon" scoffed Apollo. "I can almost guarantee you that it won't end well for either party."

"Take it as a keepsake. If you wed or not, it matters little to us old fossils. The rings are the Prince's heirlooms and as our heir, they rightfully belong to you" said Bridgette with a smile as she remembers the years of having the same ring on her own finger.

Severus looks down at the priceless heirlooms of his family and smiles back up to his grandparents before he nods. "Of course. I promise that I'll keep them safe from any harm."

"Good man."

Jinx pops into the room beside Severus. "Master, I've completed what you asked of me."

Severus brightens up at the sound of that. "Really? No trouble at all?"

Jinx shakes her head with a smile. "None whatsoever. Got out of there before anyone could see me."

"Thank you, Jinx. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Mind explaining to us dust you did?" asked a perplexed Apollo. They can't see it from under Severus's hair but he has a bitter smile in place.

"Cutting ties."

 **( Spinner Street - Evan's House )**

The Christmas three is standing tall with blinking lights tied around the branches, making it dazzle whenever the room grows the slightest bit dark. Presents line the bottom of the tree in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes. The smell of Christmas cookies and cake drifts in the air, adding a pleasant smell to the pleasant sight. To any, it looks like any normal day for a loving family on Christmas day.

However, Lily can tell that something is wrong.

Waking up by eight o'clock, she found the rest of her family already in the living room and awaiting for herself so they can open the presents. She always does enjoy the warmth of Christmas day, thinking of how she's going to sit on the couch in front of the fire and watch TV while eating cookies and playing with whatever gifts she got.

So far gone in her fantasy, she almost doesn't notice the depressing mood in the room. Looking at her family, she doesn't see the Christmas cheer she would usually find in them but instead, she finds her parents on the couch with her mother seemingly staring into space and her father looking at the Christmas tree with a blank stare. A glance to her sister and Lily sees Petunia sitting by the Christmas tree, simply staring at the presents. The idea that Petunia hasn't opened a single present has warning bells signalling in Lily's head.

"Dad?"

Harry Evan's jumps in his sit and turns to his daughter who takes a step back when she looks into his wide eyes. It takes a moment for the man to remember where he is and when he does so, he sighs with a small smile. "Lily. Good morning."

"Good morning..." replied an unsure Lily. "Are you alright?"

Harry shakes his head and rubs the top of it. "Sorry. Had my head in the clouds, that's all."

"Is this about Sev?" She doesn't need to hear her father's reply, seeing as her mother and sister jump out of their own thoughts to finally notice that she's in the room with them.

"*Chuckle*, I guess it is." chuckled Harry as he turns back to the blinking Christmas tree. "Just thinking about the times when we would celebrate the season with him. He would always get everyone something for Christmas, even when we knew about how his life at home was like. It still amazes me how good a child he became under Tobias's roof."

 _"You wouldn't think that about him if you saw what he's like at Hogwarts"_ thought Lily, bitterly she remembers his snide remarks to students and Professors alike, all the angry glares he would give everyone when he thinks that she's not looking and his unbelievable arrogance when it came to Potions.

Yet, she can't bring herself to tell her family about her own thoughts about Severus. For a brief moment, she feels the need to see him as well, only to block them out when she remembers the incident by Black Lake.

"We'll have to keep his present until he comes back, won't we?" said Petunia as she lifts up a rectangular-shaped present which is wrapped in green wrapping paper with silver diamonds.

Mrs. Evans nods with a forlorn look in her eyes. "Poor Severus. He could be anywhere for all we know."

Lily can feel a bit of anger swell up in her chest over the pathetic sight in front of her. This isn't what her Christmas is suppose to be like! They're suppose to be celebrating and laughing with Christmas music on. It wouldn't be the same without Sev but they need to get use to not having him around. Not wallowing in self pity, hoping by some miracle that he will show up and everything can be back to normal.

Nothing can go back to normal!

A knock of the door interrupts her thoughts. "I got it" said Lily, not wanting to stay in the gloomy room any longer than she should. Walking up to the front door, she unlocks it and opens it to see who is knocking at this time in the morning. All she sees is a small pile of presents on the porch with nobody in sight. "Huh?"

"Who is it, Lily?" called Harry from the living room.

"There's nobody here but someone left presents on our doorstep!"

"What?" Harry walks to the front door and as his daughter said, there is a pile of presents in front of the door. "Isn't that the strangest thing. Not one of your friend's from Hogwarts, is it Lily?"

"No. They already gave me their presents at school."

Harry bends down to check the labels on the presents. "Well, they have all our names on them but no word on who sent them."

"What do we do now?"

"Now, we bring in the presents and open them" said Harry with a wide smile. "We haven't opened any yet and it's about time we do so now." He bends down and picks up as many presents as he can, leaving two small ones for Lily to carry.

The duo of father and daughter carry the presents into the living room and drops them along with the rest of the presents by the Christmas tree.

"Who are they from?" asked a surprised Mrs. Evan's as she marvels over the colorful and well wrapped presents that her husband and daughter just brought in.

"Doesn't say. Just has all our names on them" said Harry, taking a few steps back to rest his sore arms. "Bloody things are heavy, though."

"This one is for me" pointed out Petunia as she lifts up a medium-sized box in purple wrapping Paper which has sparkling stars on them. Waiting for nobody, she tears open the paper to reveal a violet-coloured, velvet box that can just barely fit in her hand. Opening it, her eyes widen so much that it almost looks like that they might fall right out of her skull."OH MY GOD!" Petunia lifts the item and raises it over her head. "It's beautiful!"

With everyone's eyes looking at Petunia's gift, everyone's eyes widen at the sparkling gold and jewled necklace in Petunia's hand. They can count six jewals hanging off the gold necklace with five they recognize but the name of the dark pink one in the middle escapes everyone's mind.

Mrs. Evan's picks up the wrapping paper from Petunia's present and reads the label to make sure that there hasn't been a mistake. "Petunia Evan's" she muttered, noticing that their home address is on the label as well. There's simply no mistaking it.

"Who could have sent that?" wondered Harry out loud as he watches his oldest daughter put on the necklace with the biggest smile he has ever seen on her face. The sight warms his heart, making him smile over how happy the present has made his daughter.

 _"This couldn't be... James... could it?"_ thought Lily as she looks at her sister as she gushes over the necklace. The thought of James sending her family presents for Christmas causes her face to redden at the appreciated thought. _"Wait, how does he know where I live?!"_

"Oh my!" gasped Lily's mother as she opens her own present which is a bottle of perfume that she has had her eyes on for the past year and a half but could never purchase since it is one of the more fancier and expensive brands. "How thoughtful of them!"

"I always did need one of these" chuckled Harry as he swings around his new golf club which was apart of the mysterious pile of presents.

"Go on Lily. Open one of yours" beckoned Mrs. Evans as she passes a present to Lily.

Seeing no reason not to and enjoying how everyone seems to be back in their Christmas cheer, Lily takes apart the wrapping paper with reckless abandon to reveal a small jewelery box, similar to that of Petunia's, only for her one to be red in colour. It only further proves the thought that it is James who sent the expensive presents so she opens the top of the box to see what he got her.

Only to cry out and drop it when she sees what's inside the box.

The rest of the Evans family stand onto their feet to see what has caused Lily to cry out and stare at the upside down box like as if the devil himself is in it.

"Lily dear, what's wrong?" asked Mrs. Evans as she comes to her daughter's side and places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I-I-It's... S-Se...Se..."

Understanding nothing from his daughter's rambling, Harry picks up the box to see what has his daughter all worried. As he picks up the box, the lone item floats back to the floor and everyone's eyes are drawn to the enticing peace of paper as it drifts down to the floor.

It lands ono he floor while facing up and everyone quickly realizes why Lily is so panicked.

The piece of paper is actually a picture from the time that the family went to the fair when it came to town. They had brought along Severus at the time to Lily's beckoning. Knowing that there was little to no chance of Severus going with his own family, none of them saw no reason not to. After they spent a few hours having fun in the fair, they ended the day with pictures for nostalgia. Two pictures were taken that day with the Evans family keeping one while the other went to Severus.

Except, it's now lying on the floor by their feet.

 **( 2 January 1977 - St. Fierra )**

"Results are proceeding as expected" said Severus as he watches from a one-way window into the small infirmary room. In said room is one of his test subjects who had lost his left hand in an accident revolving around a wayward Dragon. So far, he is liking the results of his Limb Regeneration Potion.

Having celebrated the Christmas season with the House Elves at the Prince manor, Severus went straight back into his work on his Limb Regeneration Potion after receiving a letter from the Head of Healers in St. Fierra. Turns out that his headmaster had sent off his Potion with no troubles and St. Fierra is now willing to accept tryouts.

Tryouts has started yesterday and already, the results are looking very positive. His first test subject has already grown a small hand from where his stub use to be and while it is nowhere near to what his hand use to be like, it's still a positive result, especially since the hand is sill growing. All he has to do now is wait to see if the hand stops growing at its intended size or if it will continue its process. The subject had to be given a Potion to numb down the overwhelming pain of growing another limb but he hopes that by the end of the week, it will be worth it.

"Fascinating. I couldn't even imagine the Potion taking effect so quickly." Beside Severus is his provided assistant, Healer Baldwin, a tall man with skinny features, curly brown hair and thick glasses that keep lowering down his nose. While his constant need to tap his quill against his clipboard is annoying, Severus can appreciate the man's advanced knowledge in medicine. Whenever the smallest detail occurs, he is onto Severus with about five questions. Others would find the constant questioning annoying but for Severus, he is enjoying the time to explain to a fellow intellectual on his Potion.

Of course, he doesn't care much for the constant attention from his little fanbase of Healers who don't know when they get too close for comfort. At one stage, he almost hexed a Healer when she tried to get too _close_ for comfort.

"We'll need to alter the required doses to counteract the properties of the Numbing Potion, as well as the subjects age and gender" said Severus as he walks down the hallway so he can see the rest of his twelve subjects who have been given the same Potion. It didn't take long for St. Fierra to find test subjects from people who have lost limbs from accidents or attacks. All of them range in different ages with the oldest being eighty one and the youngest, sadly being a nine year old.

Severus stops by the window to look at the child who is staring at what use to be her right leg in awe. From the reports given, she was born into the world with a deformed leg that had to be removed so she has spent all of her young life on a wheelchair. It has made going to school and making friends difficult for the young girl but Severus hopes that he can fix that. So far, her results are looking to be the best with almost an entirety of a leg being reformed from where her stump use to be. While the skin is still paler than the rest of the girl's body, the fact that she can move her newly grown toes is an achievement in itself.

The parents must think so too since the father is hugging his daughter and the mother is sobbing beside them.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Severus turns to face his assistant who looks solemn. "Excuse me?"

"Helping them. It's because of this very reason why I wanted to help those in need" said Baldwin as he smiles at the sight of the rejoicing family. "They thought that for the rest of her life, the young girl would have to live her life with only one leg. They feared for what could happen to her when they eventually leave this world but now..." He turns to face the bewildered student. "You've given them hope for the future." He looks back at the little girl before writing on his clipboard. "Her future."

Severus turns back to face the happy family and while he doesn't try to admit it, he does feel a sense of joy that he has helped someone in his life. Almost reluctantly, a smile shines on his face as he watches the girl move her toes with a bright smile on her own face. He turns to look at the other subjects. Just because he has somewhat grown a little girl's leg back, it means nothing if she can't use it.

"We need to calculate the correct doses, immediately."

 **( 7 January 1977 - Oliver Gardens )**

"Happy new years to you all!" cheered Chloe as she wraps her arms around Rachael and Amy's shoulders, causing the pair to jump up from the sudden hug from behind.

"Chloe!?" cried Amy as she turns around to keep her back away from her friend. The last time she turned her back to Chloe, she got groped by her and she will be damned if that happens again.

"Either take it off or I'll break it off" threatened Rachael when Chloe's hand starts to thread into dangerous waters. Rachael's short hair starts to spike up and turn into an angry red to show how serious she is.

Chloe puffs out her cheeks and pulls her hand back before she can get a quick grope in. "No fun" she pouted before an evil grin emerges. "I guess with Severus as your boyfriend, you don't need me to cop a feel, do ya?"

"Do you really want me to hex you?"

"Honestly, I'd like the see the guy you'll bring home to your parents" deadpanned Amy. She knows of her friend's tendency to go from boy to boy whenever she feels like it so she'll believe it as some sort of accomplishment for the guy who keeps Chloe on a long-term relationship. She isn't putting any of her hopes up, though.

"Speaking of bringing a boyfriend home to their parents..." Rachael glares at Amy who sheepishly shrugs her shoulders in a crude apology. "How did it go with long, tall and dark meeting your parents? Did they give him the _talk_? Threaten him with emasculation? Did your dad shove a pitchfork up his a-"

"Okay, that's enough" interrupted Rachael, feeling the need to cut off Chloe before she continues. "And if you really want to know, they hit it off pretty well atually."

"Oh? So are we looking forward to a wedding any time soon?" Chloe quipped with a grin. Her answer comes in the form of Rachael hitting her in the leg with a stinging hex. "Ow!"

"Where is Severus anyway?" asked Rachael, having not seen her boyfriend since returning to Oliver Gardens.

Amy rolls her eyes. "Where do you _think_ he is?"

 **( Severus's Room )**

Ezekiel isn't sure how a simple greeting ended up with him assisting Severus in his trunk with whatever concoction he's working on now.

"Bring me the Mermaid Scales and Rat Tails."

"Yes boss" grumbled Ezekiel as he takes out the ingredients from Severus's shelves. He quickly drops said ingrediants onto the table beside Severus.

"Maybe with less lip next time?"

"Yes your majesty~" bowed Ezekiel with a smirk.

"Smart ass" grumbled Severus as he picks up the ingredients without even looking at them and dumps the contents into his cauldron before, slowly mixing them together, changing the colour of the liquid from a light orange to a dark green.

"Sev! You in here?"

"In the Potion's Lab!" Severus replied to Rachael, not once taking his eyes off his cauldron.

Rachael's opens the door to Severus's private Potion's Lab with Amy and Chloe following close behind her and marvelling over the amount of space in the simple trunk. "What ya doing?" asked Rachael, skipping to her boyfriend's side so she can look at the cauldron to see what he's making.

"Figuring out how to connect the sensory nerves from a regrown limb to the brain."

"Of course. How didn't I figure that out myself?" remarked Rachael with a roll of her eyes.

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you, Rachael."

"Well, when I have a cute and smart boyfriend like you, I'll need it to keep the playing field open" she said while tapping a finger against the tip Severus's nose.

Severus smirks and kisses the finger on his nose. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

"So, should we turn around and leave or...?" asked Ezekiel, pointing a thumb over his shoulder to the door.

"You guys can leave whenever you want. I'm here to enjoy the show" said Chloe with a wide smile. The smile dies when everyone stares at her. "What?"

"Never mind her. How's the Potion going?" asked Amy as she looks into the cauldron. She pales at the sight of the thick green liquid within it and doesn't enjoy how it's bubbling without any heat. "It's not done, is it?"

"I need it to rest for a week to let the bubbles settle but until then, we wait for a test subject."

"What about all your test subjects at St. Fierra? Don't they fit the bill?" asked Chloe who's noticeably staying far away from the cauldron.

"They do but I have to wait for the results of my Limb Regeneration Potion. I'll admit that it looks good but I can't get ahead of myself until their limbs are fully regrown with no deformities whatsoever. Even if the results prove fruitful, I'll need to calculate the correct doses for each age group and possibly gender."

"Life as a prodigy isn't easy, I'll tell ya that" sighed Rachael with a shake of her head.

Severus blushes under the praise. "I wouldn't call myself a prodigy..."

Chloe laughs and playfully wraps an arm around Severus's shoulder. "Don't get so high and mighty your _Lordship._ We're all prodigies here. Just different fields."

"She has you there" chuckled Ezekiel with a shrug of his shoulders. He can't deny her since he was invited to Oliver Gardens because of his outstanding skills in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Severus, slowly nods in agreement. Sometimes, he can forget that Oliver Gardens is a high-end institution that accepts only the best of the best. After a bit of research on his part, he has figured out that the acceptance rate into Oliver Gardens is less than five percent and that doesn't include the students who are invited themselves, with him being one of those lucky few.

"Enough about hat. Did you all hear the news about our Defence Against the Dark Arts class tommorow?" asked Rachael as she turns to address anyone and everyone ignores how her hair grows down to her feet and changes into lavender colour.

Amy looks to be full of excitement as she jumps in her spot while squealing. "How can I not? To learn how to turn into an animal has been a dream of mine since I was five! I can't wait to find out what animal I'm compatible with."

"And not all of us can turn into whatever we want at will" said Chloe while smirking at Rachael. Rachael sniffs and flicks her hair to the side with a smile.

"What's this about turning into animals?" asked a curious Severus.

"That's right. Severus transferred in so he doesn't know" nodded Ezekiel in understanding. "The story is that for the first month or two back after returning from the holidays, we all get to learn on how to become Animagus during Defence Against the Dark Arts class."

"Really?" Severus asked, very interested over the idea on becoming an Animagus. "That's never thought in Hogwarts. It's actually strictly prohibited unless you sign up for classes from the Ministry of Magic." Of course, the Marauders see themselves above the law and learned to become Animagus without the Ministry knowing. If it isn't for the fact that they are his school tormentors, he would be impressed that they learned the difficult art by themselves. The only reason that he doesn't reveal their illegal learning of Animagus Magic is because Dumbledore forced him under Magical Oath to not reveal their secret after the Werewolf incident in the Shrieking Shack.

"You're kidding me" gasped Ezekiel but from the Severus's serious expression, he isn't joking. "My old school in Italy learn how to be Animagus halfway through their seventh year. Why would your Ministry put such restrictions on it?"

Severus can think of many reasons on why, including paranoia and controlling. "My Ministry isn't the... best governed" Severus finished with the most positive response he can think of for the British Ministry of Magic. "But to learn how to become Animagus is pretty amazing" he said, hoping for the subject of matter to change away from his home country and anything to do with it. He left that life behind him and wants it to stay that way.

Luckily, Chloe falls victim for the sudden change of topic. "Damn right it is!" she exclaimed in joy. "I bet I'll be something amazing, like a unicorn or even a phoenix!"

"Or a dirty rat" chuckled Ezekiel before he winces from Chloe kicking his shin in retaliation. "Hey!"

"Shut up, you deserved that" she accused before she turns to Amy. "Please keep your boyfriend in line, won't you? We don't want him getting too big for his breeches."

"Honestly, I try my best but I like to give him some time outside to cool himself off. You know how it is" replied Amy with an amused grin. Ezekiel fake cries over his girlfriend's demeaning words that treat him like as if he's an animal. In the end, he and everyone else but Severus laugh over the antics.

Severus stares at the wall of his private Potions Lab with a thoughtful expression. _"I wonder... what animal am I compatible with?"_

 **( 7 January 1977 - Gryffindor Dormitory )**

"Lily, are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am. Why are you asking?"

"Maybe because you look like a Dementor who just woke up from a nightmare" remarked Mary as she looks at her best friend up and down. To her, it looks like Lily rushed herself while putting on her uniform since her shirt is tucked outside her skirt and she even has the bottom button of it open. Her long red hair which used to be so smooth and silky is now sticking out in all directions, obvious to Lily's lack of brushing it. There are even bags under her eyes, signifying a lack of sleep for her friend, even though they just woke up twenty minutes ago.

 _"She almost looks like a female version of Severus"_ thought Mary and tries to ignore the uneasy bubbling in her stomach over such a thought. She walks over to her friend and starts to help her get properly ready. "Here, let me help you."

"I'm not a toddler anymore. I don't need help getting dressed" grumbled Lily but allows Mary to fix her up anyway.

"Clearly." Mary rolls her eyes while buttoning up Lily's shirt, right. "What caused all this, though? You're not one to ignore personal hygiene" she asked while she tucks in Lily's shirt down her skirt.

"I just have a lot on my mind. That's all" sighed Lily in obvious exhaustion as she thinks back to Christmas. After finding the fair picture in the box, the only conclusion they could come up with is that Severus had sent them the presents. However, that only led to more questions needing to be asked than answers, most importantly being the question on how he could possibly afford such gifts, especially Petunia's gold and jeweled necklace. His sudden disappearance, the sale of his house and the gifts only adds more to the mystery that is Severus Snape and it has been keeping her up awake lately.

Honestly, it's her _Christmas present_ that has been keeping her up most of the nights. The fact that the presents weren't from James isn't what troubles the redhead but it's her personal _present_ that has her disturbed. That has been the only picture given to Severus with the entirety of the family in it and the thought of its meaning has her greatly worried.

Since it most likely means that he is severing himself from them, entirely. The picture is most likely a testament of that, acting as the symbol of Severus's connection with her family and he is cutting himself off from them.

Mary frowns in concern for her friend. "Want to talk about it?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me" Mary challenged as she makes Lily sit on her bed and climbs up behind her so she can brush her hair down. It proves to be quite a challenge since the hair seems to refuse to lie down without a fight.

"It's about Severus." Lily doesn't miss how Mary pauses in her brushing for a split moment before the process continues. In all honesty, she can somewhat understand why. Mary never did like it when she hung around with Severus, especially with him in good graces with Mulciber of all people.

"Oh."

A simple response but enough for Lily to know what Mary thinks about the subject of her former best friend. Lily forces a small smile to grace her lips, just so it can match up with the dry laugh that she allows to escape her throat. "Yea, it isn't easy for me to think about either."

"But I thought that you stopped being friends with him" asked Mary before she finishes with brushing Lily's hair. While it looks presentable enough, there are still a few split ends sticking out but it will have to do for now. "Or am I wrong?"

Lily shakes her head. "You're not. It's... complicated" she answered, having no other way to put it. It isn't like she can share her family problems with Mary, no matter how good of a friend she is.

"I can see that" replied Mary as she gets off the bed and faces Lily. "Just so you know, if you have any trouble with him, you can call me for help or even James and his friends."

 _"The last thing I need right now is James"_ thought Lily. Right now, she isn't in the right mood for James or any of his antics and knows that if he is to get word on what's worrying her, he'll most likely try and hunt down Severus to punish him in some way. He never did like Severus. "I'll keep that in mind." With no more to say on the matter, Lily stands up from the bed and exits the dorm room and walks down the steps to the Gryffindor Common Room. She has an hour until breakfast is over in the Great Hall and classes begin so she has some time to go to the library and find some answers.

However, before she can make it halfway through the room, James walks in front of her with a wide smile and glittering hazel eyes _"Not now!"_

"Hey Li-Lily? What happened to you?" James asked after he sees Lily's unruly hair and bags under her eyes. "You look like a mess!"

"Thanks, Potter. You really know how to make a girl feel special" deadpanned Lily before she tries to walk around James but he proves to be more of a nuisance then she realizes when he takes a step to his left to block her path.

"What's wrong? You know you can ask me for help if you're in trouble, right?" asked James with his warm hazel eyes bearing into her green ones. He even places a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder to show that she isn't alone.

Only for her to brush it off without a second thought. "I'm fine, James. Really. I'm just heading to the library so can you please move out of my way?" She tries to keep her tone of voice even and low but the more of her time that James wastes in distracting her is less time with her figuring out what's going on with Severus.

"Want me to accompany you?" he asked and the begging tone isn't missed by Lily. "The snakes have gotten more violent lately and I would hate it to leave you alone with them out there."

"I can take care of myself so thanks but no thanks" stated Lily as she walks past the Potter heir and towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. However, a strong hand on her shoulder stops her again and she almost feels like growling at the offending appendage that is stopping her.

"Lily, I seriously insist to come with you. I can't in good heart leave you alone in the hallway with those snakes crawling around" James insisted, hoping for Lily to agree and let him come along. Not only for her protection but also so he has an excuse to hang around in her company and hopefully find something to connect with her on a personal level. So she can finally see him as less of a friend and as something more important.

It's because of that reasoning why he doesn't see the slap coming.

James's head turns to the left after Lily's slap registers with his cheek. The entire common room grows quiet as everyone stops with whatever they are doing so they can watch the drama unfolding in the middle of the Common room. James's touches his stinging cheek in obvious shock and turns to looks back at Lily but flinches when he looks into the raging pools that are her emerald eyes.

"I told you **no** , James! Why can't you get the hint and leave me alone!"

Everyone's eyes all widen as they stare at Lily in disbelief, especially James who doesn't understand what he did wrong. Lily doesn't care for all the eyes on her and quickly leaves the Common room so she can finally complete her intended task.

With her objective in mind, Lily heads towards the library to find a missing piece of the Severus Snape puzzle.

 **( Oliver Gardens - Defence Against the Dark Arts Class )**

"As I'm sure you're all aware of, today's class will revolve around the studying and mastering of becoming Animagus" spoke the French, Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Mrs. Beaumont. Transferring from her home country, Beaumont is in her late forties but has clearly been taking care of herself over the years, hence the lack of wrinkles on her brow. Her long mocha-coloured hair is scrunched up into a messy bun on her head with quite a few strands escaping its confines. She adorns a simple button white shirt and long black skirt with a pair of black high-heels which raises her from her normal size of 5'8" to 5'11".

With her beauty and attire, she has become a crush for many of the students in Oliver Gardens. Unfortunately, Mrs. Beaumont is known across the campus as being one of the most strictest professors in all of Oliver Gardens with rumors stating that she can even scare the headmaster into submission.

All the tables and chairs have been removed from the classroom, leaving everyone to stand at attention and wait for their guidance from their professor. Many eyes are on the long table behind Mrs. Beaumont which is covered by a red blanket to hide whatever is on it. Whatever it may be, they know that it must be alive at least since the blanket won't stop fidgeting in place. Some students are sweating over the sight of the movement while others are wondering what is hiding underneath the blanket.

"I won't lie. Some of you won't leave this institution as Animagus" bluntly stated Mrs. Beaumont, uncaring of the groans and protests coming from her students. "Quiet! You don't learn to become an Animagus overnight! Animagus Magic takes immense patience and is extremely difficult to master. If done wrong it can result in disaster" she spoke with her accent showing.

"What kind of disaster?" asked Amy with her hand in the air.

Mrs. Beaumont's sharp eyes regard Amy for a few seconds, causing the young girl to nervously lower her hand and try to make herself as invisible as she can. A moment later and Beaumont starts to walk up and down the classroom with her hands and wand behind her back. "Over the years, many people have failed to take Animagus seriously and have disfigured themselves, permanently. If you make a simple mistake in your time hear studying, you will probably grow a few claws, feathers and tails. If you're lucky, of course."

Many in the class gulp, nervously over the professor's description but Severus furrows his brows in curiosity.

 _"Patience and difficult to master? How in Merlin's beard did Potter and his gang master it?"_ he thought, wondering how they did the impossible. Potter, Pettigrew and Black aren't known for their patience or will to overcome their studies so the idea that the three of them mastered the difficult art on their own is making him wonder his own sanity. _"How the bloody hell did Peter of all people master it!?"_

Beaumont stops at the front of the classroom with her back straight and her last step producing a loud snap of wood, unknowingly causing the entire class to stand up straight with their arms by their sides. "For the next month, I will be teaching you how to unlock the animal within you" declared Beaumont who points her wand in the direction of her class. Then, she smirks and whirls around and with a flip of her wand, removes the blanket on the table. "Now, my favourite part."

Severus blanches at the potted plants on the table with similar reactions coming from the rest of the students. While the plant doesn't look like anything worth mentioning with it's almost dead-like appearance and its leaving barely hanging onto the body, he can remember enough detail of that specific plant to know what it is. And dear Merlin, does he hate it!

"Mandrake, a big part of becoming a Animagus."

Severus silently groans at the sight of the ever-annoying plants. "Bollox."

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